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On Tuesday November 4, 2008, President Barack Obama reflected on the life of Mrs. Ann Nixon Cooper: \u201cshe\u2019s seen throughout her century in America\u2500the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told we can\u2019t; and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Empowered and energized by this history-making presidential campaign, Mrs. Cooper told her story in her own voice.\u00a0 <\/span>A Century and Some Change <\/em>is the portrait of an American who lived a rewarding and culturally rich life.<\/span><\/p>\n Mrs. Cooper was raised in Nashville in the home of her aunt-in-law Joyce Washington Nixon, who was born a slave at Wessyngton Plantation during the last days of the Civil War.\u00a0I\u00a0 had the honor of interviewing\u00a0Mrs.\u00a0Cooper and recording her memories in my book The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation,\u00a0<\/em>which she mentioned in her book.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A Century and Some Change: My Life Before the President Called My Name <\/span><\/em>will be released on January 5, 2010 by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.\u00a0 Mrs. Cooper passed away on December 21st at her home, nineteen days short of her 108th birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n