Earlene Hill Hooper is an American politician who represented District 18 in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 1988 to 2018. Hooper's district included large portions of Nassau County. Hooper served as the first female Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from 2009 to 2018. First elected in a special election held on March 15, 1988, Hooper was (at one time) the only New York state legislator of color from

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. A former social worker, with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in English from

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnersh ...

and a

Master's in Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

, she previously served as an administrator in New York State's Department of Social Services Division of Child and Family Services. Hooper also served on the Democratic Platform Committee during 1988. On September 13, 2018, Hooper was defeated in the Democratic primary by psychologist and political newcomer Taylor Raynor, who was described as "a loose jezebel that has two kids and no husband" in fliers spread within the assembly district. Hooper was criticized during her campaign for comparing Raynor to a slave and comparing Nassau County Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs to a plantation owner.

References

1930s births Living people People from Nassau County, New York Deputy speakers of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly African-American state legislators in New York (state) Adelphi University alumni Norfolk State University alumni Women state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians Politicians from Baltimore 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature Year of birth missing (living people) {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub