[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING TAMPA'S LOCAL TRAILBLAZER, LILLIAN COOPER STRINGER, IN 
                      HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 28, 2022

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, this Black History Month, I am 
proud to celebrate local trailblazers who have lifted up our Tampa Bay 
community. I rise today in immense gratitude for Lillian Cooper 
Stringer, a lifetime public servant who has been a leader to help 
ensure safety, dignity and vitality for thousands of neighbors. Born in 
Bartow, Fla., Mrs. Stringer moved to Tampa--into public housing--at a 
young age. Her mother did not complete middle school and she was one of 
five siblings. Precocious, in third grade Mrs. Stringer received the 
highest grade for English composition in all of Hillsborough County. 
The accolades and recognition she received from this became a pivotal 
moment that catapulted her into a true understanding that higher 
education was key to lifting herself out of poverty. She worked hard to 
earn good grades and remain an active student, including as a dancer 
and member of the Middleton High School Tiger's drill team.
  In 1978, Mrs. Stringer received her bachelor's degree in Radio, 
Television, Film Communication and English Education from the 
University of Maryland College Park Campus. Mrs. Stringer had stints 
with landmark local organizations before joining Tampa Housing 
Authority, including Hillsborough Community College, Hyatt Regency and 
WFLA.
  She found a special calling where she currently serves as the 
Director of Community Affairs for the Tampa Housing Authority, one of 
the largest housing authorities in the state and the state 
administrator for Assisted Housing/Section 8. Since starting in 1990, 
she has served the agency in various capacities, including all areas of 
resident initiatives; social services; inter-agency involvement; staff 
employee and resident training; as well as serving as a local and 
national housing advocate and agency spokeswoman. With little to no 
senior engagement available when she started with Tampa Housing 
Authority, she launched initiatives to improve senior safety and 
healthy community living--what she has erected and developed serves as 
a national model and will leave a lasting legacy. She developed 
numerous programs for Tampa Housing Authority's older residents through 
Elderly Services Initiatives to keep senior citizens engaged, including 
the foster-grandparent supports and intergenerational programs that 
connect seniors with youth. She also developed and coordinated plans 
for the first on-site clinic at an elderly property and created 
``Senior Spotlight,'' a column that highlights the accomplishments of 
elderly residents. She coordinated the first ``Senior Cabaret,'' an 
event designed to provide an opportunity for the elderly to interact, 
socialize and meet elderly residents from other properties.
  Catapulting students in public housing into successful lives through 
education, as she herself did, became a passion and for years she 
coordinated a scholarship that also equipped students with luggage and 
laptops as they were sent off to college. She managed the first Family 
Day Care Homes, which provides an opportunity for qualified, unemployed 
seniors to keep no more than six young people in their home 
environment, as well as the Youth Sports and Cultural Program, Resident 
Enterprise Assistance Program, Revolving Loan Program and the agency's 
Recycling Center.
  Mrs. Stringer's current and prior memberships include Alpha Kappa 
Alpha Sorority, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, local 
chambers of commerce, Public Relations Society of America, American 
Association of University Women, Florida Bar Grievance Committee, 
Metropolitan Ministries Advisory Board and Leadership Tampa Bay. She 
even owned her own boutique, Chez Lilly, from 2007 to 2011. Mrs. 
Stringer has been married for 40 years to former Judge Thomas E. 
Stringer and she is mother to Roderick Eugene Cooper.
  Mrs. Stringer's accomplishments did not come by mere accident or 
simply because they were part of her job duties. Rather, Mrs. Stringer 
has gone above and beyond her professional obligations because her 
personal experience, passion for dignity, and commitment to preserving 
Tampa's African American heritage led her to approach community 
engagement in new, innovative ways. Madam Speaker, on behalf of a 
grateful Nation and Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize the 
service and leadership of Lillian Cooper Stringer.

                          ____________________