Although born enslaved, Cooper pursued higher education at Oberlin College in Ohio, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1884 and a master's degree in mathematics in 1887.

[9] According to Mark S. Giles, a Cooper biographer, "the educational levels offered at St. Augustine ranged from primary to high school, including trade-skill training.

[7] Cooper's academic excellence enabled her to work as a tutor for younger children, which also helped her pay for her educational expenses.

"[10] Her husband's early death may have contributed to her ability to continue teaching; if she had stayed married, she might have been encouraged or required to withdraw from the university to become a housewife.

[7] After her husband's death, Cooper entered Oberlin College in Ohio, where she continued to follow the study designated for men, graduating in 1884.

[12] At Oberlin, Cooper was part of the "LLS", "one of the two literary societies for women, whose regular programs featured lectures by distinguished speakers as well as singers and orchestras".

"After a week at the Exposition, she went to Oberammergau to see the Passion Play, thence to Munich and other German towns, and then to Italy through Rome, Naples, Venice, Pompeii, Mt.

Du Bois, "designed to prepare eligible students for higher education and leadership", rather than the vocational program that was promoted by Booker T.

Its central thesis was that black women's educational, moral, and spiritual progress would improve the general standing of the African-American community.

[19] Cooper advanced the view that educated and successful black women must support their underprivileged peers in achieving their goals.

The essays in A Voice from the South also touched on various topics, such as race and racism, gender, the socioeconomic realities of black families, and the administration of the Episcopal Church.

Her insights at this gathering underscored the interconnectedness of racial struggles across the African diaspora, promoting a vision of solidarity and empowerment for Black individuals globally.

[23] Cooper's work critiqued the systemic oppression rooted in colonial and racial exploitation, laying the groundwork for intellectual frameworks that would influence future Pan-African and anti-colonial movements.

America can boast her expanse of territory, her gilded domes, her paving stones of silver dollars; but the question of deepest moment in this nation today is its men and its women, the elevation at which it receives its "vision" into the firmament of eternal truth.In 1914, at 56, Cooper began courses for her doctoral degree at Columbia University.

The same year she retired, she accepted the position of president at Frelinghuysen University, a school founded to provide classes for DC residents lacking access to higher education.

Under Cooper's leadership in the 1930s, Frelinghuysen University focused on increasing literacy among the African American working poor and providing liberal arts and vocational education for unskilled workers.

She emphasized that education should cultivate critical thinking, self-improvement, and active civic engagement, preparing students to be not only skilled but socially responsible individuals.

For example, Cooper addressed concepts akin to “double consciousness” and critiqued portrayals of Black Americans in literature well before Du Bois, who frequently referenced her ideas without providing proper attribution.

Her memorial was held in a chapel on the campus of Saint Augustine's College, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her academic career began.

[38] Her book A Voice from the South remains a seminal work in Black feminist theory and is widely cited in courses on sociology, history, and gender studies, solidifying her position as a foundational thinker.

[43] Pages 24 and 25 of the 2016 United States passport contain the following quotation: "The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity."

[44] Cooper is honored on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on February 28, underscoring the recognition of her social and educational contributions within religious communities.