HISTORY DR. BENNET J. COOPER, SR.: FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN DIRECTOR OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION AND CORRECTION By Rodney Blount, Jr., MA George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Brionna Taylor, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and Trayvon Martin. We remember your names and the countless others whose lives were tragically cut short. The Black community is reeling against injustices committed against them by those in power and by civilians who have disregard for black and other minorities lives. Systemic racism has been a problem in America for centuries, but there has been an increase in racist acts of violence over the last three years. It is vital for our governments, police agencies, civilian groups, and other individuals to do a critical self-reflection about the state of their current policies, membership, and modus operandi to see how they can make a change from this pandemic. This transformation should include a change in policies, hiring procedures, dismissal procedures, and a better community engagement plan. Key reform necessitates good leadership. Good leaders are proficient in their organizations’ policies and procedures, have training/experience in their area of expertise, have checks and balances on their position (their leadership is not beyond reproach and can be reviewed), and they must treat everyone equitably with justice and due process. It is imperative that all levels of government and government agencies increase their employment of minorities to reflect the communities in which they serve. Fortunately, there have been men and women who have served with distinction in our government, police departments, and government agencies. Dr. Bennett J. Cooper is an example of a powerful director of a government agency who did not take his position lightly and implemented reform. He served as a role model for others in criminal justice that have followed him. Dr. Bennett Joseph Cooper, Sr., was born June 3, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Emmett Sr. and Lydia Jones Cooper. He also had a twin brother, Emmett Cooper, Jr. Emmett Cooper, Sr. was a pharmaceutical chemist and Lydia Cooper was a teacher. The Coopers moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where Bennett and Emmett graduated from Manual Training High School. The twins moved to New Orleans to attend Xavier University where Bennett met and fell in love with Zelda Mohr. Similarly, Emmett, Jr. fell in love with Zelda’s twin, Ermelda, and the siblings had a double wedding ceremony at
Blessed Sacrament Church in Cleveland on November 19, 1941. Dr. Bennett enlisted in the United States Army Corps on February 19, 1943 and served in the Pacific theater. He was present in Okinawa when the bombs were dropped on Japan ending the Second World War. His son, Bennett, Jr was born in New Orleans while Bennett Sr. was overseas. Dr. Cooper rose to the rank of Sergeant Major. After his three years of service, Bennett returned to Cleveland to join his brother and work at the Post Office. His daughters Eileen and Bernice were on Cleveland there as were Emmett’s three sons, Emmett, Gerald and Hewitt. The Cooper families lived together on 8809 Empire Avenue. The house was a central gathering spot in the neighborhood. Graciously, they housed family members from the South until they established roots in Cleveland. When reflecting on this time in his life, Bennett proclaimed, “My brother and I were pretty close and we had different interests but always a desire to help people, design systems and excel in whatever we pursued. We enjoyed breaking barriers and setting high standards so that others could benefit from a good reputation of those before them.” While working as a postal clerk and raising his family in Cleveland, Bennett attended Case Western Reserve University at night. He graduated with honors, completing his bachelor’s and master’s Degrees in Industrial Psychology. Bennett and Emmett continued to be promoted in the postal service and “were credited and recognized for devising and implementing the first formalized training program for new postal employees.” Emmett Cooper, Jr. would eventually serve as the postmaster of Chicago, at that time the world’s largest and busiest post office which 35
employed 21,000 employees (16,000 of the employees were African American). In 1957, Cooper joined the field of Corrections as a Chief Psychologist and transported his family to Mansfield, Ohio. In his new role, he was responsible for classification, assessment, programming, and assignment of young offenders in prisons and honor camps in Mansfield, Mount Vernon and Sandusky. He climbed the ladder to Deputy Superintendent and ultimately to Superintendent at the Ohio State Reformatory. Consequently, he was the highest ranking African American in the Ohio system. After moving to Columbus, Bennett became Commissioner of Corrections for the Department of Mental Health, Hygiene and Corrections. Cooper challenged the racial segregation policies of Ohio’s prison system, which was practiced by the staff and those imprisoned, and was primarily responsible for overturning its systemic racist policies. An example of Dr. Bennett Cooper being a change agent occurred when he noticed that only Black inmates shoveled coal on the coal piles as a part of their job. Coal fueled the prison and farms and was an undesirable and dirty job. Cooper inquired about this injustice and told the Staff Supervisor that “Staff should determine where inmate’s work not inmates!” He swiftly implemented changes to integrate and it was a success. In 1972, Governor Jack Gilligan appointed him to the Cabinet as the first Director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He operated in that role until 1975. He made American history as the first African American to become a prison superintendent in a state government system and the first African American Director of a state prison system. He increased staff diversity, training, and education of inmates and staff. When describing his work policy, Cooper replied, “I believe in working through people. That’s why I have surrounded myself with qualified staff. I believe in working through staff.” Cooper was a founder of the National Association of Blacks and Criminal Justice, an organization that provides leaders dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice and sponsors the needs of African Americans in the criminal justice arena, such as diversity, fairness in the justice system and professionalism. The NABCJ Ohio Chapter started the Dr. Bennett Cooper Scholarship Awards Banquet which has raised thousands of dollars for students pursuing a criminal justice career. He was Continued on Page 38
The Columbus & Dayton News African American • June 2020 The Columbus African American Journal • February 2015
