Flint Veterans Earns Honorary Doctorate from Tougaloo College

Cook was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Jim Crow era of the segregated Deep South, segregation that Cook considered to be the worst in the country at the time.

“Blacks had to go in back doors, could not drink from fountains, could not share libraries. I was raised under those conditions,” Cook said.

After Cook’s military service in the United States Air Force, he attended Tougaloo college in Tougaloo, Mississippi.

Cook and eight others became known as the “Tougaloo Nine” after a staged read-in at the Jackson Public Library to protest its segregation policy. Weeks prior the read-in, his civil rights were violated while riding in the front seat of a public bus.

“Everything was smooth, chatting with the driver. The next stop, a white female got on the bus. I was told ‘Boy, get up and go to the back.’ I refused to move.”

After Cook refused, the driver threated Cook with physical violence if he continued to occupy his front seat. Cook got up, exited the back door of the bus, and walked the rest of the way to his destination.

“That was the first run in with a serious situation with civil rights,” Cook explained.

“The next few weeks, I tried to organize students to do a sit in. We were targeting a bus system,” Cook continued. “Then, we later changed to a local library, which we thought would be easier to do a sit-in on. We worked with the director of the NAACP in Jackson, Mississippi to help us organize and publicize what we were going to do”

In March of 1961, with help from the NAACP in Jackson, the “Touglaoo Nine” planned a peaceful read-in at the Jackson Public Library, which at the time, was designated for whites only.

“None of us were nervous, as I recall. We knew we had back-up with the national news media, and we knew it was something that had to be done,” Cook said.

The NAACP advised the nine to enlist the help of the national media. Not so much for publicity, however, and more for their own protection. While the protest seemed harmless, it was a life or death situation for Cook and the others.

“It was a very risky situation because Blacks who stepped across the line were usually lynched,” Cook said. “We walked in, we were treated like animals and the police were called, threatened us with their dogs, but because news media was so prevalent, they had to be gentle with us.”

After refusing to leave the library, the Tougaloo Nine were arrested by police. They were released a few days later after Tougaloo College paid their bail.

“The college advised all 9 of us to leave the state for the summer for our protection,” Cook said. “There was so much violence threating the college and us that it was necessary for us to leave.”

Just 10 months after the read-in, a judge court-ordered the Jackson Public Library to desegregate.

“I think what we did was the beginning of breaking the barrier of civil rights in Mississippi,” Cook explained.

On the advice of the administrators from Tougaloo College, Cook left Mississippi and moved to Flint, Michigan in 1961. The move became permanent and Cook earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Wayne State University.

He opened Michigan Biomedical Laboratory in Flint and retired after 39 years of operating the business. Cook then spent the next 15 years as a high school science teacher and coached the school’s golf and robotics team.

Cook says he’s very honored to be given the Honorary Doctorate from Tougaloo College. It’s a reminder of the changes the Tougaloo Nine brought to the state of Mississippi.

“It says it had a very positive impact on the community at the time and changes have occurred since then.” Cook said. “Today, you can go into any facility in the state of Mississippi, and you can be treated like anyone else. I feel honored to have been a part of that program,”

Cook’s advice for the young activists that are following in his footsteps today is to vote, especially in smaller elections.

“Vote. Whenever there is an important election for state representatives, for Congress, Presidents – vote. Anyone that’s 18 years of age or older, go out and vote,” Cook said.