Afua Cooper facts for kids

Afua Ava Pamela Cooper ONS (born November 8, 1957) is a historian, author, and poet from Jamaica who now lives in Canada. She is known for her work teaching about Caribbean culture, history, and Black studies at several universities, including the University of Toronto and Dalhousie University. She's also a talented writer and dub poet, which is a type of poetry performed with reggae music. She has published many books of poetry.

About Afua Cooper

Early Life and Education

Afua Cooper was born on November 8, 1957, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. When she was young, she lived with her aunt in Kingston, Jamaica. There, she went to St. Michael's All-Age School and Camperdown High School. By the time she finished school in 1975, she had started an African Studies Club. She also became a Rastafarian. In 1976, she earned a teaching certificate.

In 1980, Afua Cooper moved to Toronto, Canada. She decided to move because of civil unrest in Jamaica.

University Studies

In 1983, Cooper started studying at the University of Toronto. She focused on African studies. Later, she went back to get her Master of Arts degree. For this, she studied Black Canadian history. In 2000, she earned her PhD in African-Canadian history. She became an expert in the history of slavery and its end.

Her PhD paper was about Henry Bibb. He was a 19th-century African-American abolitionist. He lived and worked in Ontario. Her research helped the Canadian government recognize Henry Bibb as a person of national historic importance.

Becoming a Muslim

In 1988, Afua Cooper became a Muslim.

Afua Cooper's Career

Teaching and Academia

Before moving to Canada, Cooper taught at a high school in Jamaica. When she arrived in Toronto, she continued teaching at Bickford Park High School.

Starting in 2004, she began teaching African Canadian history and women's history at the University of Toronto.

In 2009, she helped create the Black Canadian Studies Association. This group helps people learn more about Black Canadian history and culture.

In 2011, Cooper was given an important role at Dalhousie University. She became the James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies. In 2016, she helped start a new program at Dalhousie. This program allows students to minor in Black and African diaspora studies.

Poetry and Writing

Afua Cooper's first book of poetry, Breaking Chains, came out in 1983.

In 1988, she was a special guest at the Banff School of Fine Arts. There, she wrote two more poetry books. These were The Red Caterpillar on College Street (1989) and Memories Have Tongue (1992). Memories Have Tongue was even a finalist for a big award called the Casa de las Américas Prize.

In 1990, Cooper performed her poetry in Queen's Park, Toronto. This was part of the celebration for Nelson Mandela being released from prison. About 25,000 people were there to watch her! Later that year, she traveled to Senegal and Gambia.

She also helped write a book called We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History (1994). She has also released two music albums with her poetry.

In 2002, Cooper helped start the Dub Poets' Collective. This is a special group for poets in Canada.

Historical Books for All Ages

In 2006, Cooper published The Hanging of Angelique. This book tells the true story of an enslaved African woman named Marie-Joseph Angelique. She was executed in Montreal when Quebec was under French rule. The book was nominated for a Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction.

Afua Cooper has also written historical novels for children. In 2009, she published two books for young readers:

• My name is Henry Bibb: a story of slavery and freedom
• My name is Phillis Wheatley: a story of slavery and freedom

These books help kids learn about important historical figures in a fun way.

From 2018 to 2020, she was the poet laureate for the city of Halifax. This means she was the official poet for the city.

Awards and Honours

Afua Cooper has received many awards and honours for her work as a historian, educator, and writer. Some of these include:

• The Marta Danylewycz Award for Historical Research (1995)
• The Commonwealth of Kentucky Award for Contribution to Kentucky history (2002)
• The Canadian Federal Government Award for Contribution to Black History
• The Academic Leadership Award from University of Toronto Black Alumni (2004)
• The Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence (2005)

In 2015, she received the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission's Dr. Burnley Allan “Rocky” Jones Award. In 2020, she was given the Portia White Prize. This is a major award at the Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala.

In 2024, Afua Cooper was made a Member of the Order of Nova Scotia. This is a very high honour in Nova Scotia.

Books by Afua Cooper

• Breaking Chains (Weelahs, 1983)
• Red Caterpillar On College Street (Sister Vision Press, 1989)
• Memories Have Tongue: Poetry (Sister Vision Press, 1992)
• We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History, with Peggy Bristow, Dionne Brand, Linda Carty, Sylvia Hamilton and Adrienne Shadd (University of Toronto Press, 1994)
• Utterances and Incantations: Women, Poetry, and Dub (Sister Vision Press, 1999)
• The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto!, with Adrienne Shadd and Carolyn Smardz Frost (Natural Heritage Books, 2002)
• The Hanging of Angélique, The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal (HarperCollins, 2006)
• Copper Woman and Other Poems(Natural Heritage Books, 2006)
• My Name is Henry Bibb: A Story of Slavery and Freedom [historical fiction] (Kids Can Press, 2009)
• My Name is Phillis Wheatley: A Story of Slavery and Freedom [historical fiction] (Kids Can Press, 2009)
• "To Learn… Even a Little, The Letters of Solomon Washington," in Hoping for Home, The Stories of Arrival (Scholastic Canada, 2011), 171–91.

Discography

• WomanTalk: Women Dub Poets (Heartbeat Records, 1984)
• Poetry Is Not a Luxury (Maya Music Group, 1985)
• Your Silence Will Not Protect You (Maya Music, 1986)
• Sunshine (Maya Music Group, 1989)
• Worlds of Fire (Soundmind Productions, 2002)
• Love and Revolution (Soundmind Productions, 2014)