Anne Nixon Cooper Died Today At Age 107

Anne Nixon Cooper made history as she cast her ballot for Pres. Barack Obama in 2008. After living through 107 years of change, she died December 22, 2009.

The “land of the free, home of the brave” that we take for granted today did not have the same face 107 years ago.

Anne Nixon Cooper was born January 9, 1902, just one generation after the abolition of slavery. There were no cars or planes. No Twitter, no blogging, no television, no satellites, cell phones, or any other means of instantaneous information sharing. Injustice could smolder in small towns, undetected for decades, and what we’d consider a crime against humanity today, didn’t even make honorable mention in the local newspapers.

Anne Nixon Cooper is special for a number of reasons, but one of the most poignant is the wisdom of experience she’s carried through her years. She was a living reminder that change takes time, and never comes without a fight. To quote Talib Kweli in his rendition of Nina Simone’s, “Four Women”

As we go about our holiday season “to-do” lists, let’s not forget to light a candle to Anne Nixon Cooper. Don’t forget to pause and reflect on how far we’ve come and recognize how far we have left to go. Most importantly, don’t forget that the fight for equality has been ongoing for thousands of years. What we’re doing today is merely taking the next step in a global journey that encompasses us all.

From Obama’s Speech:

“This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

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 couldnt vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”