A.J. Cooper Dead At 34: D.C. Council Candidate Collapsed At Mother’s House

A.J. Cooper III, an ambitious politician and D.C. council candidate, died on Wednesday at the age of 34.

His mother, Brenda Rhodes Miller, confirmed his death by stating that her son passed away “suddenly” Wednesday morning.

The Washington Post reports that A.J. Cooper III, playfully known by family and friends as “Jay,” complained about being dizzy and suffering from chest pains shortly before collapsing at Miller’s home.

According to his mother, A.J. Cooper had not been feeling very well recently.

A.J. Cooper was able to boost his overall image with African-American youth during his time at Roosevelt High School in Washington D.C. as well as his years in college by hosting televised teen summits.

The University of Maryland graduate also served briefly in the Marine Corps before becoming the policy director of the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

A.J. Cooper decided to take a shot at politics two years ago when he ran as an independent for a seat on the D.C. Council.

However, one could say that the desire to work in politics was hereditary for him — especially since his father enjoyed the same field of work. Algernon Johnson-Cooper made history by becoming the first black mayor that was elected in the majority-white Alabama city of Pritchard over 40 years ago.

Peggy Cooper Cafritz, A.J. Cooper’s aunt, is not just known for being an arts advocate and philanthropist but also for her term as the President of the D.C. Board of Education.

The former president was also one of the many people that supported her nephew A.J. Cooper’s political run.

“He loved the city, and he loved serving the people in the city, from the elderly to the young. Jay was just on the verge of bursting forth.”

Even though A.J. Cooper finished fourth in his 2012 race among other non-Democrats, he did not let allow that to stop him from striving to reach his goals. Reports show that Cooper launched another run almost immediately as a member of the Democratic Party for yet another at-large seat in a special election. However, Cooper withdrew from that political race.

Freedom Farms, an urban farming initiative, was one of A.J. Cooper’s biggest focuses recently. The target objective of the initiative was to increase food growth and create job opportunities for low-income city residents.

Another project that A.J. Cooper was involved with consisted of building gardens throughout the city at charter schools. Cafritz claims that Cooper even obtained the clearance to expand his project to Southeast Washington in the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

[Image Credit: Washington Post & Complex]