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House
Resolution 207
By:
Representatives Brooks of the
63rd
and Taylor of the
55th
A
RESOLUTION
Wishing
Ms. Ann Nixon Cooper a very happy 107th birthday; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
Ms. Ann Nixon Cooper celebrated her 107th birthday on January 9, 2009;
and
WHEREAS,
the national spotlight fell on Ms. Cooper when then candidate Barack Obama
lauded her in his victory speech as "the heartache and the hope" of an America
that all too recently denied her and all blacks the most basic rights of
society, including the right to vote; and
WHEREAS,
she is living history, having lived through two world wars in which blacks were
not permitted to serve with white soldiers and numerous conflicts when they
were, a severe depression, the civil rights movement (she was seven years old
when Ms. Ruby Cody Brooks was born, 20 years old when Reverend Joseph Lowery was
born, 27 years old when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, and 25 years old
when Dr. Ralph David Abernathy was born), and has now lived to see the
inauguration of a black man as President of the same nation that once denied her
entrance to movie theaters; and
WHEREAS,
while her recent fame came from being recognized on national television, she
should as easily be honored for her own efforts during the days of struggle, as
she taught reading at Ebenezer Baptist Church and helped form a Girls' Club for
African-Americans; and
WHEREAS,
President Barack Obama has spoken of and praised her work and longevity;
and
WHEREAS,
although she has been a part of history, and she has known such people as Bobby
Kennedy and Nat King Cole, her own estimation of her greatest achievement is her
family. She and her dentist husband, Albert Berry Cooper, moved to Atlanta soon
after their 1922 marriage and raised four children, all of whom had successful
lives. She has 15 grandchildren, most of whom were present at her birthday
celebration; and
WHEREAS, given the joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies, and ups and downs this fine lady has endured and enjoyed, it is only right and proper that the members of this body wish her a very happy birthday and commend her on a life well lived.
WHEREAS, given the joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies, and ups and downs this fine lady has endured and enjoyed, it is only right and proper that the members of this body wish her a very happy birthday and commend her on a life well lived.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body commend Ms. Ann Nixon Cooper on the event of her 107th birthday and
wish her much happiness in the future.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Ms. Ann Nixon
Cooper.