Friday’s Coast Guard MSU Cleveland dedication ceremony honoring Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, the first black woman to serve in the United States Coast Guard, opened a window into our nation’s racial history and Dr. Hooker’s personal perseverance and dedication to advancing equity and inclusion through community advocacy and education.

“It is our duty to recognize the heroes of the past and share their message for those in the present and future. Dr. Hooker, in all respects, was an amazing woman and her legacy will live on in our service.”

— LCDR Jeremy Maginot

LCDR Jeremy Maginot, Commanding Officer Marine Safety Unit Cleveland, welcomed dignitaries and guests to the building naming ceremony. He shared with the audience how the Coast Guard routinely dedicates capital assets and buildings to heroes of the service. When LCDR Maginot checked into the unit in 2020 “I realized that our building in Cleveland was unnamed. Considering Dr. Hooker‘s life, legacy, and connection to Ohio, I found this a fitting tribute in her honor. There are at least two other USCG facilities dedicated to her, one at Coast Guard Sector New York, and the other at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington DC.” He added “It is our duty to recognize the heroes of the past and share their message for those in the present and future. Dr. Hooker, in all respects, was an amazing woman and her legacy will live on in our service.”

Rear Admiral Michael Johnston, the Ninth District Commander (the senior Coast Guard Commander for the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway, an area that encompasses eight states, and a 1,500-mile international border), took guests for a history lesson when he shared Dr. Hooker’s personal story as a 6 year-old girl witnessing the terror of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots, then going on to serve her country as the first black woman in the U.S. Coast Guard. Dr. Hooker studied psychology and education at Ohio State University and taught third grade until it was announced that the Navy would allow black women to serve. Hooker had fought for this right along with her sisters in the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, but after a while, she noticed no one seemed to be signing up. "I thought, if you have fought for a right, as we had campaigned for the Navy to take in black women, then somebody ought to take advantage of it," Hooker says. "So I thought, alright, if nobody else comes up, I’ll try." More on Dr. Hooker’s journey to the Coast Guard (read more)

She later earned her master’s in psychology from Teacher’s College at Columbia University and a doctorate from the University of Rochester, where she was one of just two black female students. In 1973, Hooker helped found the American Psychological Association’s Division 33, which conducts research and advocates on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also taught psychology for 22 years at Fordham University. One of her greatest accomplishments, she says, is watching her PhD students succeed and give back to their communities, essentially following in her footsteps — though she probably wouldn’t admit this. "That pleases me a great deal," she says, "because it does mean that you’re trying to make the world a better place."

Click on the below images for additional stories and audio of Dr. Hooker’s reflections on her well-lived life!

Blog