Anna Julia Cooper
Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964) was an influential African American educator, author, and activist born in Raleigh, North Carolina. As the daughter of a slave and her master, Cooper faced significant societal challenges throughout her life. She demonstrated remarkable academic aptitude from a young age, entering a teacher's training program at St. Augustine's Normal School at just nine years old. After her marriage to George C. Cooper, she temporarily left her teaching career, returning to it after his death.
Cooper furthered her education at Oberlin College, where she became one of the first African American women to earn a degree, graduating in 1884. She held various teaching positions, eventually becoming the principal of Washington Colored High School in D.C. In 1892, she published "A Voice From the South," a collection of essays addressing issues of race and gender that contributed to the civil rights and feminist movements. In 1925, she achieved her Ph.D. from the University of Paris, becoming the fourth African American woman to do so. Cooper's legacy includes her pioneering work in education and her commitment to advocating for the rights of African Americans and women. She lived to be 105, passing away in 1964.
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Anna Julia Cooper
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- Born: August 10, 1858
- Birthplace: Raleigh, North Carolina
- Died: February 27, 1964
- Place of death: Washington, D.C.
Biography
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1858, Anna Julia Cooper was the eldest daughter of slave Hannah Stanley and her master, George Washington Haywood. At the remarkably young age of nine, Cooper was accepted into the teacher’s training program at St. Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh. After completing her studies, she began work as a teacher at St. Augustine’s. In 1877, Cooper married former slave and theology student George C. Cooper, at which point she was forced to retire from her teaching position. She returned to teaching when her husband died two years later. Cooper never remarried.
In 1881, Cooper traveled to Ohio to attend Oberlin College, a rare institution that allowed African American women to enroll. She gained entrance to the school after writing to the president of Oberlin explaining her situation. She was allowed to attend for free and worked as a teacher to support herself while earning her degree. She graduated in 1884.
After receiving her degree from Oberlin, Cooper accepted a teaching position at Wilberforce University, the oldest private African American college in the United States. Cooper was additionally assigned head of the department of modern languages and sciences. Despite her respectable position, Cooper left Wilberforce University after only one year, responding to her mother’s wishes that she return to teaching at St. Augustine’s. Three years later, Cooper was awarded a master’s degree in mathematics. In the fall of 1887, she once again left St. Augustine’s, this time to teach at Washington Colored High School in Washington, D.C. Cooper spent the remainder of her teaching career at Washington Colored High School, eventually becoming the school’s principal in 1902.
In 1892, Cooper publishedA Voice From the South, by a Black Woman of the South, a collection of essays about racial and gender divisions. Critically acclaimed and well received by the public, the book was influential in both the civil rights and feminist movements. Forced by scandal to leave her position as principal of Washington Colored High School in 1906, Cooper moved to Missouri to teach at the Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City. She returned to Washington, D.C., four years later to resume projects she had begun within her community and resumed teaching at Washington Colored High School.
In 1925, Cooper became the fourth African American woman to earn a Ph.D. when she was awarded her degree by the University of Paris at Sorbonne. Five years later, Cooper became president of Frelinghuysen University in Washington, D.C. She retired in 1955 at the age of 88. Cooper lived to be 105, dying in her home in 1964.