LaRita Cooper-Stokes, first Black woman judge in Hinds County, dies at 64

Judge LaRita Cooper-Stokes, who shared in a family dynasty on the Jackson City Council and in 2014 became the first Black woman to be elected to the bench in Hinds County, died Monday morning at the age of 64.

Cooper-Stokes was admitted to the intensive care unit at St. Dominic in Jackson and diagnosed with pneumonia in early March, before later being transferred to a hospital in Houston.

Cooper-Stokes, who represented District 2 on the county court, was also a former member of the City Council, representing Ward 3 between 2012 and her election to the court in 2014. Her husband, Kenneth Stokes, preceded her, having represented the ward since 1989. After her election to the court, he left the Hinds County Board of Supervisors to run for the seat again and continues to represent the ward on the council.

Cooper-Stokes was a graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.

Stokes, who missed a number of council meetings in the recent weeks in order to be with his wife, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, at times a rival to Stokes in council meetings and in the media, issued a statement offering his condolences.

"I would like to send my condolences to Councilman Kenneth Stokes and the family of Judge LaRita Cooper-Stokes after her passing this morning," Lumumba said in a statement. "Larita was a longtime public servant for the City of Jackson and Hinds County. ... Her service to the community and efforts to make the world a better place from where she stood will be remembered. I am prayerful for the family and friends of LaRita, and the City of Jackson mourns her loss.”

Plans for a memorial service have not been released at this time.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Former councilmember, Hinds County judge, wife of Kenneth Stokes, dies