Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Annie Lee Cooper

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Nationality
  
American

Role
  
Civil rights activist

Name
  
Annie Cooper

Occupation
  
Civil rights activist

Ethnicity
  
Black


Annie Lee Cooper smiling, having white hairs, a yellow turban, gold dangling earrings, a gold beaded necklace, and eyeglasses. She is wearing a yellow-gold patterned dress.

Born
  
June 2, 1910 (
1910-06-02
)
Selma, Alabama

Died
  
2010, Selma, Alabama, United States

Known for
  
Selma to Montgomery marches

Parents
  
Lucy Jones, Charles Wilkerson Sr.

Similar People
  
Oprah Winfrey, Coretta Scott King, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Brad Pitt

Selma 2015 featurette oprah winfrey as annie lee cooper


Annie Lee Wilkerson Cooper (June 2, 1910 – November 24, 2010) was an African-American civil rights activist in the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement who is best known for punching Selma Sheriff Jim Clark.

Contents

On the left, Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper with a struggling face while being dragged by the uniformed policemen with people in the background in a movie scene from "Selma", a 2014 American historical drama film. On the right, Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper lying and resisting on the grassy ground while holding a billy club while being forcefully arrested and handcuffed by three uniformed policemen with plants and a window in the background in a movie scene from "Selma", a 2014 American historical drama film. On the left, Oprah is wearing a cream wide-collared coat over a blue buttoned dress while on the right, Oprah is wearing a long-sleeve dress while the three policemen have belts with guns in their holsters, socks, and formal shoes, wearing long-sleeve uniforms and slacks.

Selma featurette oprah winfrey as annie lee cooper 2015 oprah winfrey movie hd


Life and work

Annie Lee Cooper smiling, wearing red lipstick, a white beaded necklace, gold accentuated white earrings and a twisted animal-print turban. She is wearing a white dress under a dirty-white coat.

Annie Lee Cooper was born on June 2, 1910 as Annie Lee Wilkerson in Selma, Alabama, one of ten children of Lucy Jones and Charles Wilkerson Sr. By the seventh grade, Cooper dropped out of school, and moved to Kentucky to live with an older sister.

Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper lying and resisting on the grassy ground while holding a billy club while being forcefully arrested and handcuffed by three uniformed policemen with plants and a window in the background. Oprah is wearing a long-sleeve dress while the three policemen are wearing long-sleeve uniforms, slacks, belts with guns in their holsters, socks, and formal shoes. On the left is a uniformed policeman holding a portable flash and a camera hanging on his neck in a movie scene from "Selma", a 2014 American historical drama film. He has a belt with a gun in its holster and is wearing a long-sleeved uniform with a necktie and a pair of slacks.

In 1962, Cooper returned to Selma to care for her elderly mother. Appalled by the fact that although she had been a registered voter in Pennsylvania and Ohio she was unable to register to vote in Alabama, Cooper began to participate in the Civil Rights Movement. Her attempt to register to vote in 1963 resulted in her being fired from her job as a nurse at a rest home. She then worked as a clerk at the Torch Motel.

Annie Lee Cooper

In January 1965, Cooper stood in line for hours outside the Dallas County Courthouse to register to vote until Sheriff Jim Clark ordered her to vacate the premises. Clark prodded Cooper in the neck with a billy club until Cooper turned around and hit the sheriff in the jaw, knocking him down. Deputies then wrestled Cooper to the ground as Clark continued to beat her repeatedly with his club. Cooper was charged with "criminal provocation" and was escorted to the county jail, and then held for 11 hours before being allowed to leave. She spent the period of her incarceration singing spirituals. Some in the sheriff's department wanted to charge her with attempted murder. Following this incident, Cooper became a registered voter in her home state.

Annie Lee Cooper

On June 2, 2010, Annie Lee Cooper became a centenarian. Reflecting on her longevity, she stated, "My mother lived to be 106, so maybe I can live that long, too." On November 24, 2010, Cooper died at the Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma, Alabama.

Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper lying and resisting on the grassy ground while holding a billy club while being forcefully arrested and handcuffed by three uniformed policemen with plants and a window in the background in a movie scene from "Selma", a 2014 American historical drama film. Oprah is wearing a long-sleeve dress while the three policemen are wearing long-sleeve uniforms, slacks, belts with guns in their holsters, socks, and formal shoes. On the left is a uniformed policeman wearing a long-sleeved uniform with a necktie, a pair of slacks, a belt with a gun in its holster; holding a portable flash and a camera hanging on his neck. On the right is a man has a cap paired and black shoes, wearing a black tuxedo over a white collared shirt and a black necktie.

In the 2014 film Selma, Cooper was portrayed by Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey said that she took the role "because of the magnificence of Annie Lee Cooper and what her courage meant to an entire movement."

References

Annie Lee Cooper Wikipedia
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