Barbara Cooper (politician)

Barbara Lee Cooper ( Ward; August 4, 1929 – October 25, 2022) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 86th District.

Biography
Cooper was born in the New Chicago area in the district of North Memphis. Cooper graduated from Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee. She also graduated from Tennessee State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master's degree in Education. She was a Memphis City Schools teacher. Cooper graduated with a Doctorate of Religious Philosophy in Christian psychology, from Jacksonville Theological Seminary (Jacksonville, Florida) in 1999.

Cooper later became involved in Memphis politics, serving as the chair of the African-American People's Organization. They organized a convention that aided W. W. Herenton's election as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1991 election and encouraged civic engagement with the Shelby County Democratic Party.

In 1994, Cooper ran for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 90th district, and lost to John DeBerry in the Democratic Party's primary election. Cooper ran for the 86th district seat in the Tennessee House to succeed Rufus E. Jones, who did not run for reelection, in 1996. Cooper won primary election out of nine candidates.

She was Vice Chair of the House Government Operations Committee. She served on the House Children and Family Affairs Committee, the House Education Committee, the House Family Justice Subcommittee and the House Higher Education Subcommittee.

On November 8, 2022, Barbara Cooper posthumously won re-election in the 86th electoral district, with 74% of the vote over an independent candidate. On January 24, 2023, the special election primary to complete her term was won by Democrat Justin J. Pearson, with 52.4% of the vote over nine other candidates.

Personal life and death
In 1951, she married John D. Cooper, one of the first black firemen in the Memphis Fire Department; they had three children. John D. Cooper died in 2006, after 55 years of marriage.

Cooper was a Catholic who attended St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Cooper died on October 25, 2022, at age 93.