11-04-2025
Humanitarian among Black Heritage Honorees
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)- Walter Cooper the University of Rochester's first Black Chemist is among the honorees at the Black Heritage Gala hosted annually by the City of Rochester. This year the theme is celebrating the history of African American labor.
Dr. Cooper says advocating for the dignity of mankind is among the lessons he learned early as a child growing up outside Pittsburgh in Clairton, Pennsylvania. 'Anything that diminishes human kind, you have a moral responsibility to oppose it.' Cooper explains.
In 1956, he became the first black man to earn a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Rochester. He went on to enjoy a successful career at Kodak. He's advised national leaders in politics and civil rights from Robert f. Kennedy to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X. At 96, Cooper has spent a lifetime working to improve housing, employment, educational and political opportunities for African Americans.
'And I paid a heavy price in this town for the stance I took on behalf of black people.' Cooper says from his home in Penfield. Whether he was creating an organization to address poverty following the riots of 1964 or challenging the status quo with the city school district in 1960, Cooper says he did it because it needed to be done. Despite being reprimanded by his boss at Kodak Cooper said he was not dissuaded from working on behalf of people in Rochester, specifically kids. 'The children won and I was willing to pay the price,' Cooper adds.
Cooper recalls his mother's insistence that he and his six brothers and sisters have a library card. Although he says he grew up poor, his home was filled with books. In 1953, he married his wife Helen whom he met while studying and teaching at Howard University. When the couple moved to Rochester, Helen started working at Eastman Kodak prior to her husband. They raised two sons Robert and Brian.
Cooper strongly believes success starts at home with the family and it requires a healthy appetite for education, a historical foundation and self awareness. 'I operate from the basis of my own convictions and my interest in children getting an idea that they do have a place in this society.'
The City of Rochester's Black Heritage Committee will honor Dr. Cooper with a lifetime achievement award during the sold out gala Saturday, April 12 at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center at 5:30 p.m. Several other honorees include Former Mayor Bill Johnson, State Assemblyman Demond Meeks and The Rochester Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
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