Andrew W. Cooper

Andrew W. Cooper
Born August 21, 1927(1927-08-21)
Brooklyn, New York
Died January 28, 2002(2002-01-28) (aged 74)
Brooklyn, New York
Occupation Journalist
Ethnicity African American
Notable credit(s) Trans-Urban News Service,
The City Sun

Andrew W. Cooper (August 21, 1927–January 28, 2002)[1] was an African American civil rights activist, businessman, and journalist. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of The City Sun.[2]

Cooper was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He attended Boys High School and Adelphi University.[1] From 1951 through 1971, he was an executive of the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company.[3]

In 1965, Cooper brought suit under the Voting Rights Act against racial gerrymandering.[1] African Americans and Latinos made up the majority of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in which he lived, but the neighborhood was divided among five congressional districts, each represented by a white Congressmember.[4] Cooper opposed districts drawn in what he described as "so tortuous, artificial and labyrinthine a manner that the lines are irrational and unrelated to any proper purpose".[5] His lawsuit, Cooper v. Power, was successful.[1] It resulted in the creation of New York's 12th Congressional District and the election in 1968 of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress.[3]

In the 1970s, Cooper left the business world to become a journalist.[4] He started the Trans-Urban News Service (TUNS) in 1977, with the dual goals of training minority journalists and producing reporting that was relevant to their communities.[4] The Public Relations Society of America gave TUNS its top award in 1979 for its multi-part series on racial tensions between blacks and Jews in Crown Heights.[6] Cooper wrote a weekly column, "One Man's Opinion", for the Amsterdam News and also wrote for The Village Voice.[3]

Cooper founded The City Sun, a weekly newspaper that covered issues of interest to African Americans in New York City, in 1984.[2] According to The New York Times, The City Sun had a circulation of 18,500 in 1987.[7] Financial difficulties forced Cooper to shut down The City Sun in 1996.[8]

Cooper was recognized as Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists in 1987 for his work at The City Sun.[9]

Cooper died in Brooklyn in 2002 of a stroke.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The City Sun Editor-in-Chief Andrew W. Cooper dies". Business Wire. January 30, 2002. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Jan_30/ai_82336550. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Susan Heller; Maurice Carroll (June 1, 1984). "New Tabloid". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEEDE153BF932A35755C0A962948260. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  3. ^ a b c d Lueck, Thomas J. (January 30, 2002). "Andrew W. Cooper, 74, Pioneering Journalist". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEED9103AF933A05752C0A9649C8B63. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  4. ^ a b c "Andrew W. Cooper". Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/andrew-w-cooper. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  5. ^ "The 40th Anniversary of Cooper v. Power". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 4, 2007. http://www.brooklyneagle.com/archive/category.php?category_id=4&id=12674. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  6. ^ Dawkins, Wayne. "Why did The City Sun (1984-1996) matter?". African American Literature Book Club. http://aalbc.com/reviews/whydidthe_nyc_sun_matter.htm. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  7. ^ Jones, Alex S. (August 17, 1987). "Black Papers: Businesses With a Mission". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2DF143DF934A2575BC0A961948260. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  8. ^ Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 9, 1996). "Black Weekly's Survival Is in Question". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E4DE143BF93AA35752C1A960958260. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
  9. ^ "Past Winners". National Association of Black Journalists. http://www.nabj.org/awards/honors/past_winners/index.php. Retrieved January 30, 2009.