C. DeLores Tucker (born Cynthia DeLores Nottage) (October 4, 1927-October 12, 2005) was one of the most renowned visionaries and civil rights activists of the 21st century, best known for her stance against rap music.
Born in Philadelphia to a minister and a "Christian feminist mother" on October 4, 1927, she was the 10th of 11 children. In 1951, she married William "Bill" Tucker, a successful Philadelphia real estate agent. Dr. Tucker, who herself dabbled in real estate and insurance sales, attended Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania-Wharton School. She was the recipient of two honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Morris College in Alabama and Villa Maria College in Pennsylvania.
A tall, elegant woman who spoke with a stirring cadence (inherited from her pastor father), Dr. Tucker had a long history in the Civil Rights Movement. Early on, her civil activities included participating in the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and raising funds for the NAACP.
Dr. Tucker became the first African-American Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving from 1971 to 1977. She was the convening founder and national chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. (NCBW), having succeeded the Hon. Shirley Chisholm in 1992. She is the first African American woman in the nation to serve as Secretary of State, during which time she instituted the first Commission on the Status of Women in Pennsylvania. Dr. Tucker also was responsible for the Governor’s appointment of more women judges and more women and African Americans to boards and commissions than ever before in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She also led the effort to make Pennsylvania one of the first states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. As Chief of Elections of Pennsylvania, she was a leader in instituting a voter registration by mail and reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age.
She was founder and president of the Bethune-DuBois Institute, Inc., which she established in 1991 to promote the cultural development of African American youth through scholarships and educational programs. Dr. Tucker also launched, and serves as publisher of the renowned publication, Vital Issues: The Journal of African American Speeches; an acknowledgement of its launching was inserted into the Congressional Record by then Congressman William H. Gray.
Dr. Tucker dedicated much of the last few years of her life to removing sexually explicit lyrics from rap and hip-hop tracks, citing a concern that the lyrics were misogynistic and threatened the moral foundation of the African American community.
Called "narrow-minded" by some rappers who often called her out in their lyrics, Dr. Tucker picketed stores that sold rap music and bought stock in labels like Sony, Time Warner, and others in order to protest hip-hop at their shareholders' meetings. She also fought against the NAACP's decision to nominate late rapper Tupac Shakur for one of its Image Awards and filed a suit against his estate for comments that the rapper made in one of his albums.
Selected as one of 25 of the World’s Most Intriguing People by People Magazine, Dr. Tucker was also selected as a People Magazine 1996 Yearbook Honoree, and was featured in the inaugural issue of John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s George Magazine for her crusade against gangsta/porno rap. In addition, she has been acknowledged for her deep concern for children by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in the book It Takes A Village. The National Women’s Political Caucus and Redbook Magazine also named Dr. Tucker as the woman best qualified to be Ambassador to the United Nations. For five consecutive years, from 1972 through 1977, Dr. Tucker was listed as among Ebony Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Black Americans. During that period, she was listed as Ladies Home Journal Nominee for Woman of the Year in both 1975 and 1976. She was recognized by Ebony as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Organization Leaders in the country in 2001 and 2002. Dr. Tucker was also a prominent member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Dr. Tucker died on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at SuburbanWoods Health Center in Norristown, Pennsylvania at the age of 78.