The Educational Leadership of Anna Julia Haywood Cooper

Abstract

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (1859-1964) was one of the most influential African-American educators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Heralded as a community activist, author, and scholar, Cooper dedicated her entire life to the education and empowerment of African-American youth and adults. Her commitment and passionate belief in the power of education as a vehicle to social, economic, and political freedom was a driving force in her life. As a classroom teacher, high school principal, and college president, Cooper initiated and implemented pioneering educational reforms, which reflected her distinctive vision of education for Blacks, females, and working-class people. Cooper's vision of education challenged the dominant discourse concerning how African-Americans, females, and working-class adults should be educated by offering alternative ways of educating these disenfranchised groups. Indeed, her ideals of education were framed by her social location as a Black woman in an era when few Blacks and few women were educated, and when most were disenfranchised.