Curtis V. Cooper was an American

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Early background

He was born in 1932 in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and had

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heritage. He graduated from

Savannah State College Savannah State University (SSU) is a public historically black university in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is the oldest historically black public university in the state. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College ...

, but his lack of financial resources prevented him from achieving his dream of becoming a physician.

Civil rights leader

Cooper took part in the civil rights movement. He was a leader in the local Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and later became president of the NAACP Savannah Branch.

Health care provider

Cooper is credited with reshaping health care for the poor in his native city. In 1972, he secured funds for the establishment of a comprehensive health center for the city's indigent and served as its executive director. Under his management, it grew into the Westside-Urban Health Center, a major medical resource. In 1984, Cooper became one of the first black members of Memorial Medical Center's board of directors. In 1995, he became chairman of that same board. He also was the chairman of the Chatham County Hospital Authority twice and he served on the Georgia State Access to Health Care Commission and the Georgia State Health Strategies Council. There are currently three ''Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care'' facilities. They are located at: * 106 East Broad Street (near Broughton Street in Savannah's Historic District); * 840 Hitch Drive; * 2 Roberts Street (on the corner of West Bay Street near

Garden City, Georgia Garden City is a city in Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, located just northwest of Savannah, Georgia, Savannah. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population o ...

Death

Cooper died in January 2000. Soon after, the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

passed a resolution to express their regret at the passing of Curtis V. Cooper and convey their sincerest sympathy to the members of his family.House Resolution 806 - Curtis V. Cooper; condolences, Georgia House of Representatives, January 13, 2000

Honor

The following landmark was named to honor Curtis Cooper: * The ''Curtis V. Cooper Garden'', a terrasse from the ''Savannah International Trade & Convention Center''

Footnotes

1932 births 2000 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights Movements for civil rights Activists from Savannah, Georgia Savannah State University alumni {{GeorgiaUS-stub