美国国家公共电台 NPR--Daughters remember their father — the man who brought Juneteenth to San Diego

Daughters remember their father — the man who brought Juneteenth to San Diego

Transcript¹

Long before Juneteenth was recognized as a federal² holiday, Sidney Cooper had been celebrating the hallowed day for decades. Lana Cooper-Jones and Marla Cooper remember their father who died in 2001.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's time now for StoryCorps. Sunday is Juneteenth, and Monday will be celebrated³ as a federal holiday, one year after the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act became law. Today, we will hear about one father who spent decades celebrating the day when no other family in his neighborhood did. In the early '50s, Sidney Cooper settled in Southern California. He was a Black business owner in a predominantly white area. Recently, two of his daughters, Marla and Lana, came to StoryCorps to talk about their dad.

MARLA COOPER: I remember Dad always smiling, and he just did not meet any strangers, never. He would get up and start walking down the avenue, and everybody would be like, hey, Coop. What's up, Coop? Here comes the mayor⁴.

(LAUGHTER)

LANA COOPER-JONES: That's right. Everyone started calling him the mayor of Imperial⁵ Avenue. You know, we had a produce stand, and he gave credit⁶ to people who didn't have money to pay for groceries until they got their next check.

COOPER: Dad used to always tell us, you are not any better than anyone, but you are not any worse. Our father was not a rich man, but it was really important to Dad to be proud of who you are and to always give back.

COOPER-JONES: Right. He was a proud Black man. And ever since we were kids, he taught us the history of Juneteenth, that it's the end of slavery, and he wanted everybody to celebrate that day, not just African American people. But people didn't want him to talk about it. So we would go to the park with just family and close friends.

COOPER: I remember us having a lot of food and it being like a picnic. And a lot of kids of different races came around, and they wanted to eat. Dad was like, yeah, everybody's going to eat.

COOPER-JONES: Exactly. And that's how he was. So he opened it to everybody in the park.

COOPER: Yeah. I would invite my friends. Like, you don't know what Juneteenth is? Girl, you better come and see. And they were like, you Coopers sure know how to give a party.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER-JONES: Daddy had probably 200 people. Now we have thousands that come and celebrate.

COOPER: Right.

COOPER-JONES: It's like a family reunion, and people that haven't seen each other in years come together.

COOPER: You know, there's no book that says how to be a great dad. But he said, I can show you by example.

COOPER-JONES: Our father taught us to love ourselves, to love our color. And if he was here and knew it was a federal holiday, he'd be shouting from the mountains, telling everybody about time, about time.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: Lana Cooper-Jones and her sister Marla Cooper, remembering their father Sidney, who died in 2001. Their family will celebrate Juneteenth this weekend, as they have for the last seven decades. This conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress⁷.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

5 imperial   

adj.帝王的，至尊的；n.特等品

参考例句：

• They made an objection to the imperial system with resolution.他们坚决反对帝制。
• The Prince Imperial passed away last night.皇太子昨晚去世了。

6 credit   

n.信用，荣誉，贷款，学分；v.归功于，赞颂，信任

参考例句：

• I credit him with a certain amount of sense.我认为他有一定的见识。
• He got the credit,and we did the dirty work.他得荣誉，我们做不讨好的工作。

7 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。