Saturday, July 04, 2009

Georgia Cousins Turns 100 Years Old Today

Today is not just a special day because it's the Fourth of July-- Independence Day. It's special because of a special lady-- Georgia Cousins!

100 Years Ago TODAY Mrs. Georgia Cousins came into this world.

She shares a birth year with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Even though I'm a member of both organizations and will celebrate their 100th anniversaries, I count the birthday of Mrs. Georgia Cousins to be just as important.

In her own way Mrs. cousins has touched hundreds of people with her writings. As a child at First African Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, I used to hear the pastor talk about the writings of Mrs. Cousins.

In recent years, Mrs. Cousins has served with me on the First African Baptist Historical Commission. This is a group that is dedicated to producing a historical volume on our church, which will be 229 years old in November.

I had the distinct honor to pick up Mrs. Cousins and bring her to our house for lunch in December 2008.

Even then, she was talking about her 100th birthday coming up. Well, it's here and tomorrow the membership at First African Baptist Church will celebrate it in a big way.

Mrs. Cousins joins Calvin Coolidge, who was the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. The nation's 30th president was born in Plymouth, Vermont on July 4, 1872.

It is worth noting that three other U.s. Presidents are often associated with this holiday not because it was their birthday, but because it is the day they departed this life. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died hours apart on July 4, 1826 while James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

Today we're not celebrating death, but life. We celebrate the life of this country.. and more specifically the life that began in Georgia Cousins. She is a fantastic lady and I am glad to call her not only a church member, but a family friend too.

I will miss not be at her birthday party tomorrow at Richmond's First African Baptist Church. But I wanted to share her story with the rest of America, who happens to be reading this on my Web site. Happy Birthday Mrs. Cousins!

2 comments:

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