By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
So often in life we see it, and it catches our eye and then our heart – big things in small packages. Annie Cooper caught my eye at a Jackson City Branch NAACP meeting three years ago with her warm and welcoming smile and over time I’ve seen her heart and her indomitable spirit. Her journey has been marked by success, service, and perseverance. Cooper sat down with this writer at the offices of The Mississippi Link newspaper to share her story for Women’s History Month.
She was born in Jackson to loving parents, her mother a school cafeteria worker, and her father a mechanic, truck driver, and Baptist preacher. She has four siblings, one sister and three brothers, and she came right smack in the middle. She attended what was then a segregated Brinkley Junior-Senior High School through her junior year, then transferred to Lanier Junior-Senior High School for her final year and graduation. In tenth grade, after participating in a guidance session on occupations, she decided to become a fashion designer – she had already been making some of her own clothes. But who would have imagined her next move.
The University of Wyoming was on a short list of schools offering a degree in fashion design and off she went. Fourteen hundred miles from home, only to discover when she arrived that they had just discontinued their fashion design program. She pivoted to a Bachelor of Science degree in Art. The first of many pivots. You give Annie Cooper lemons; she’ll make lemonade every single time! In Laramie she was a member of the Black Student Alliance and interacted with many international students, foreshadowing future academic and occupational pursuits. When asked about the racial posture in Wyoming at the time, she indicated, “my attitude was to focus on myself and my goals. I wasn’t concerned with the white students and got along well with the international students. Sometimes I would get taunted by some of the Black athletes from the big cities about being from Mississippi, but that was all.” She was there at the University of Wyoming during the “Black 14” incident – protesting the religious practices of the Mormon Church toward Black people. “Getting away from the South was about more than race and restrictions. My family was very religious. There were limits placed on women that I couldn’t tolerate. I felt stifled.”
In 1973 she was accepted for a position as a senior technical secretary at none other than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She stayed for sixteen years, as an Administrative Assistant and then Program Coordinator, but did much more than that. She married and had two children: a son and a daughter. She enrolled in Cambridge College – taking many of her classes a couple of miles away at Harvard, and graduated with a master’s degree in education, Human Resource Management. Her thesis was titled, “Establishing a More Inclusive Student Environment at Private Schools”. She also taught English as a Second Language, at night for a year, for the Cambridge Community Learning Center.
From Boston, she took a position as Director of Multi-cultural Affairs at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. For over twenty years she was at the critical intersection of programming designed to enhance cultural sensitivity, social awareness, and global education through mentoring and advocacy, and assisted international students with their educational visas. A couple of years before the end of her time there, a medical condition arose that required yet another pivot. Cranial cervical dystonia causes involuntary neck muscle contractions, with symptoms that are life-altering. A truckload of lemons, yet once again, well, you already know.
Taking a slightly early retirement, Ms. Cooper returned to Mississippi, to her mother’s house, to carry on. It’s not fair to compare, but what she accomplishes and the example she sets for others is beyond remarkable.
She already completed her French language classes, so now she has moved on to Spanish. She practices Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art with focus on “moving meditation, deep breathing, and relaxation.” She gets myofascial treatment every week. Yoga twice a week. Line dancing three times a week. She has illustrated two books authored by her son. She attends “History is Lunch,” a weekly lecture series at The Two Museums. She attends Friday Forum at the Refill Jackson Initiative, and the Breakfast Club on Saturdays. She serves as Secretary for the community organization ZAPP (Zoo Area Progressive Partnership). She serves on the Education Committee for the NAACP Jackson City Branch. Of no surprise, she is working on her memoirs!
Touching base with Dr. Wilma Mosley Clopton is always a good idea. When asked about Annie Cooper her excitement could be felt through the phone line. “Oh, thank you so much for asking me about Annie. What is so special about her is her tenacity. She just doesn’t give up. Her persistence and her clarity, the way she shares willingly with other people is amazing. She is just so full of love.”
A petite woman from Jackson Mississippi who only understands one gear – forward. In a life filled with achievement and contribution, she was asked what rises to the top. “With gratitude, my children, of course.” What counsel would she share with other women? “Women are so focused on others. Don’t wait to develop yourselves.” The Mississippi Link newspaper wants to be among the first to know when her memoirs are published and takes great pride in profiling Annie L. Cooper during 2026 Women’s History Month.
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