According to BET, A.J. Cooper III, a former host of BET’s Teen Summit and an aspiring politician, died on Wednesday morning, the Washington Post reports.
The 34-year-old reportedly collapsed at his mother’s home after complaining of dizziness and chest pains, according to his aunt, Peggy Cooper Cafritz. She said he had been feeling unwell for several days.
Cooper, a D.C. resident, had been running for a city council seat left vacant by the upcoming mayor, Muriel E. Bowser. He intended to launch a political career just as his father, Algernon Johnson Cooper, had in 1972, when he became the first Black mayor elected in predominantly white Pritchard, Alabama.
During his high school and college years, Cooper became a familiar face to many African-Americans of his generation as the host of Teen Summit. Cooper had also served as the policy director for the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy after graduating from the University of Maryland in 2009.
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