Frances Huntley-Cooper has dedicated her life to public service. She was a social worker for 28 years, an alderwoman and in 1991 — against all odds with little political ambition — became the first elected Black mayor in Wisconsin.
But as a shy girl from Lisbon, a small, segregated town in North Carolina, she never expected to end up in politics.
“I was real quiet growing up,” Huntley-Cooper said. “I was considered a very reserved student.”
Huntley-Cooper attended an all-Black elementary and middle school. Her mother then insisted she attend the predominantly white high school across the street from their home. Huntley-Cooper and three other girls made up the school’s entire Black population.
“In the end, it was a good experience,” Huntley-Cooper said.
Huntley-Cooper’s shy nature was offset by her mother, a small yet outspoken woman who ran a local day care. Her mother was a strong advocate against injustice and became “a voice for the voiceless,” Huntley-Cooper said.
When she wasn’t in North Carolina, Huntley-Cooper was visiting family in New York. Life in a small Southern town was nothing compared to a vibrant place like New York, where as a teen, Huntley-Cooper exposed herself to culture, fashion and artistry she’d never seen before. She spent hours in Macy’s, wearing clothes she couldn’t in public, to be somebody she couldn’t be in a small town.
New York’s ethnic and cultural diversity also proved helpful, teaching Huntley-Cooper how to engage with people in an unfamiliar manner.
“That’s how I’m not afraid to ask questions,” Huntley-Cooper said. The city provided Huntley-Cooper with a myriad of new experiences. For once, she was able to engage with people in a way she couldn't back home, a crucial development to becoming a social worker.
“I think that helped me open up," Huntley-Cooper said. “I grew up in a place where you’re not supposed to ask people questions, so for me to go into social work, the first thing you’ve got to do is ask people questions.”
In 1970, Huntley-Cooper enrolled at North Carolina A&T, the same HBCU as her mother, and later her sister, daughter and nieces. There she developed strong relationships and learned valuable lessons in the school’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Divine Nine historically Black sorority.
“There are things I’ve learned in this organization as a sorority sister that I would have never learned anywhere else,” Huntley-Cooper said.
Since her initiation, Huntley-Cooper has stayed active on every level. She would eventually carry many of those leadership lessons with her throughout her professional career.
Coming to Madison
Huntley-Cooper enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in August 1973 to earn a master’s degree in social work. It was here, far from her mother’s passion, that she found her own voice.
”Growing up, I observed that [passion]…when I moved away and I didn’t see all that happening, that’s when my voice came out,” Huntley-Cooper said.
Huntley-Cooper was keen on helping disadvantaged youth and said helping others came naturally to her. When she realized Black students at UW-Madison were not receiving the same support and encouragement she witnessed at North Carolina A&T, she wanted to change that.
She ran for Fitchburg City Council as a write-in candidate in District 1.
“I probably got 52 votes,” Huntley-Cooper said, but it was enough to carry her to victory.
She served as an alderwoman for two years. In her second year, she was joined by another woman, Jo Bernhardt. After a difficult term, Bernhardt told Huntley-Cooper she would not run for reelection. Huntley-Cooper remembers her saying, “I can’t take it. I don’t know how you do it.”
Huntley-Cooper found her background in social work gave her the strength to be an alderwoman.
“If you have to take a child away from the parent and put them in foster care…that’s the hardest job [you’ll] have to do,” Huntley-Cooper said.
Tom Capp, then mayor of Fitchburg and mentor to Huntley-Cooper, pushed her to run for mayor. Initially, Huntley-Cooper was resistant and thought politicians were more polished than her. But Capp insisted she was right for the job — and unbeknownst to her — mentioned Huntley-Cooper as his preferred replacement over the radio. Ultimately, it was enough to convince her to run.
Capp went on to help run her campaign alongside her colleague Mike Fahey. Fitchburg’s first female mayor, Jeanie Sieling, also guided her.
Huntley-Cooper proved Capp knew what to look for in the next mayor, presenting as a serious, focused and composed mayor. She said she wasn’t intimidated by her work — or balancing being a mother, wife and working full-time — thanks to her experience as a social worker.
When she began her campaign for mayor, she made it clear she wouldn’t let her race stand in the way.
Frances Huntley-Cooper campaign pamphlet from the 1991 Fitchburg mayor's race. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, WHI-147500.
“I said, ‘race is not an issue,’” Huntley-Cooper said. People didn’t expect Fitchburg to be the home of the first Black female mayor, but Huntley-Cooper had no issue being a trailblazer. Because she had a habit of saying things straight, she found she didn’t meet substantial pushback. While she could have used more support, she said she at least wanted to “leave the doors open for people after me”.
She was elected in 1991. Roughly 30 years later, Huntley-Cooper was finally followed by the second elected Black mayor in Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s Cavalier Johnson.
“I’m delighted Cavalier Johnson was elected, but it shouldn’t have taken that long,” Huntley-Cooper said.
Life after mayorship
When she first came to Wisconsin for school, Huntley-Cooper never expected to build a life here.
She took a job in a group home for Dane County, with the intent of getting experience before moving on. But before long, she met her husband and ended up getting married and having kids.
Fifty years later, Huntley-Cooper still calls Fitchburg home.
“I don’t think there’s anywhere else I’d rather be,” Huntley-Cooper said.
While she loosely considers herself retired, Huntley-Cooper tries to stay active in the greater Madison area. This includes being a member of the Madison Community Foundation, a delegate for multiple Democratic National Conventions, president of Capital City Hues, a newspaper serving people of color in Madison, a sorority sister and former president of TEMPO Madison.
Huntley-Cooper has also been involved in creating Madison’s Center for Black Excellence and Culture. The center, the brainchild of Rev. Dr. Alex Gee, will open in 2026 and support thousands of Black community members. Different programs in the building will be dedicated to wellness, seniors, students and artists. Huntley-Cooper has been raising funds to make the center completely free for community members since joining the project.
“It’s been amazing to watch that develop,” Huntley-Cooper said. “It’s a joy to serve this community.”
