Anna Cooper On African American Women

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Introduction Anna J. Cooper is remembered as a writer, educator, speaker, activist and one of the most influential African-American scholars. Receiving her PhD in history from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1924, Cooper became the fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree. She was also a prominent member of Washington, D.C.’s African-American community and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
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In a speech for the World’s Congress of Representative Women at Chicago’s World Fair, Cooper said, “I speak for the colored women of the South, because it is there that the millions of blacks in this country have watered the soil with blood and tears, and it is there too that the colored woman of America has made her characteristic history and there her destiny is evolving” (1893). Anna J. Cooper is from Raleigh N.C., just as I am. Cooper understood the foundation on which this country was founded and advocated for women of color. Cooper advocated for women to receive equal education, noting that educating African-American women was a requirement for advancing the black race. Cooper stood up for her beliefs and would not deter from what the black community deserved. Resigning from her position as …show more content…

According to Cooper, power can range in form from physical oppression to emotional manipulation, including coercion, ideology, material advantage, interactional norms and communication. For example, Cooper viewed society as a system of institutions, stratified groups, and cultural aspirations. She believed that order in society could take two forms, domination and equilibrium; however, regardless of whether a society is characterized by domination or equilibrium, it is never free of conflict (Ritzer &

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