Floyd Cooper, illustrator of Black life for children, dies at 65
In this book Mr. Cooper illustrated the story of enslaved people who built the White House.
by Alex Vadukul
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Floyd Cooper, a celebrated childrens book illustrator who explored the African American experience in stories rooted in history, like one about a boy in Alabama in 1955 trying to comprehend why a Black woman on his bus refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, died July 15 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was 65.
His wife, Velma Cooper, said the cause was cancer.
Over 30 years and some 100 titles, Cooper illustrated childrens stories that not only carried his earthy and golden pastel impressions of Black life, but that also strived to recount chapters of African American history that he felt werent taught enough in classrooms if they were taught at all.