A Century and Some Change: My Life Before the President Called My Name

by Ann Nixon Cooper, Karen Grigsby Bates

President-elect Barack Obama reflected on the life of Ann Nixon Cooper on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, singling her out of millions of voters, he said, because she was “born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons—because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.”

Energized by this history-making presidential campaign, Mrs. Cooper now shares her story, her life before the president called her name, in her own voice, with the assistance of bestselling author Karen Grigsby Bates.

Mrs. Cooper is the beloved matriarch of a large and accomplished family who live throughout the country, and a long-celebrated elder in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where she raised her children and has lived most of her long and extraordinary life. She was born and raised in Bedford County, Tennessee, near Nashville, on January 9, 1902. Her father was a tenant farmer, and her mother worked at home, taking care of the children.

She met her husband, Dr. Albert Berry Cooper II, while he attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville. They settled in his hometown of Atlanta, where he established a successful practice in dentistry.

When president-elect Obama referred to her in his speech, she became a celebrity, sought after by media from all over the world. In Mrs. Cooper’swords, “All of a sudden, everyone wanted to talkto me. . . . It was nice they were interested, I guess,but I wasn’t so thrilled that media and ordinaryfolk were acting as if the only exciting thing I’d everdone was vote for a black man for president. . . .I’d had a life before CNN and the rest ‘discovered’me.” And she is going to tell you about it.

Genres: Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 26, 2009

About the author

Ann Louise Nixon Cooper was a centenarian used in United States President-elect Barack Obama's November 2008 election speech as a representative of the change in status African Americans had undergone during the past century and more in America. Before that, she was a noted member of the Atlanta African-American community and an activist for Civil Rights.

Reviews

[Lynecia]

Marvelous! A really inspirational story - talk about a life well lived. So many accomplishments - founding nursery schools and social organizations for black youth in Atlanta - founding the first Black Boy Scout troop, founding member of The Links Atlanta chapter, she was a dear friend of the King family and many other prominent folks, and the proud mother of 4 children, a host of grand children and great grandchildren! She kept up her fabulous social life, wore her high heels and danced well into her 100s (until she broke her hip at 104). I want to be like her when I grow up. Mrs. Nixon passed away at 107 in 2009.

[CL Harris]

This story was actually really interesting I enjoyed it from start to finish. Part funny part sad but told a real truth thank you for sharing parts of your life with me.

[Imani Smith]

In this story of her life, Ann Nixon Cooper shares the highs and lows of one hundred-seven years of living. She gives us a look into her childhood, marriage, motherhood, and activism. In the beginning of the book, she starts off telling of her family and when she changed her name to Ann Louise Nixon instead of her birth name. After the death of her mother when she was still young, she and her sisters were split up among family members because their father could not take care of them. Ann was sent to family in Nashville, Tennessee, where she enjoyed a rather lavish life with her Aunt Joyce and her family. While in her early adulthood, Ann met a college boy named A.B. Cooper Jr., he would later go on to become a dentist and Ann’s husband. Together they had four children and be considered “well-to-do”. During her life in Atlanta, where she and A.B. moved after marrying, she helped support and build up groups and clubs within the black community there. She was good friends with the father of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and she also saw the struggle for freedom and rights for minorities from the front, as she was also a participant. Yet she was most honored when then-president elect Obama mentioned her in his 2008 victory speech on election night.

[Nandi Crawford]

The story of the woman mentioned in then President Elect Barack Obama's election night speech brought a lot of attention and press this lady's way. Now she pens her own story of a woman born in Tennessee in 1902; Her mother died when she was eleven, and was raised by an aunt and her daughter. When she was still a teen, she met the man who would become her husband, A.B. Cooper, then a third year Dentistry student at Meharry. They soon fell in love, married in 1922, became the parents of four children;(all but one of the children has died).She rubbed shoulders with black elite of Atlanta such as the Herndons and the Kings. She became a registered voter in 1940, and wanted to go down and vote for Barack Obama in person for she felt it was a historical as well as the right thing to do; Somehow, he heard about what she did and called her on the phone. When he got elected, he mentioned her by name since she was 106 at the time of his election. Sadly, she died a month ago, but this book is a testament to her life and legacy and shouldn't be missed.

[Laura]

An fascinating story of a woman born in 1902 who became famous when President Obama mentioned her in his presidential acceptance speech. She was 106 when she voted for him. I really enjoyed this story particularly because I learned a lot about life in the segregated South from the upper-middle class black perspective. She and her husband were part of the upper class in Atlanta. So I learned a lot historically and I loved her personality too. The story is told in first person.

I just happened to pick this up off of the new non-fiction bookshelf at the library and I'm glad I did.

[Greta]

Young country girl moves from Nashville to Atlanta before she is granted the right to vote in 1940, that's right, she was born "colored" in 1902. Her observations of life in Nashville as she came of age are festive, lively and happy. Marriage and a move to Atlanta was much more difficult with extensive segregation. Ann Nixon Cooper's story is enlightening and inspirational.
She lived to age 106, long enough to vote for Barack Obama and rejoiced at seeing a young black family in the White house.

[Melissa]

This is a quick light hearted read. It is wonderful to read a positive biograghy of a black woman. Ann is 107 years young and reflects on her life in this memoir. She was born to share croppers and raised doctors and lawyers. There is a lot of name dropping that I didn't like but was told that that is typical of upperclass Atlanta blacks.

[Carrie F.]

A memoir and a good read about a 106 year old voter spotlighted by Obama.

[Bunsy1]

I loved this book and all the photos. What a lady! I am going to do better in my own life.
What a family also.