Lolita Standard

Obituary – March 21st, 1940 – September 20th, 2021

On Thursday, March 21st, 1940, Lolita Joan Standard was born to John and Violet Standard in Brooklyn, New York. She was the middle child of three siblings. Her brothers George Brown and Eduardo Standard, both have preceded her in death.
Lolita, Lo, Mama Lo, Auntie Lo, Grand Lo is survived by her son Mabusha Cooper and his wife Serena Cooper, their children/her grandchildren— Jokulo, Noble, Dorian, Raven and Masai. Her nieces and nephews—Nubia, Dalton, Webster, Kenneth, Dorothy Lil Grace and Verone, survive her. She has several great nieces and nephews and several adopted spiritual daughters. As with her friend Margret Roberts, Lo maintained close contact throughout her adulthood with a few of her childhood friends.

Lo was reared in Brooklyn and attended the New York City public schools. She graduated from Prospect Heights High School. She later majored in Photography at Brooklyn College and Pratt Institute. She mastered the building of friendship and generosity with love and respect for people regardless of religion, race, age or social status.

In 1964, she traveled to France and stayed at the home of, the great writer/political activist, James Baldwin. And, on February 21st, 1965, Lo was in at- tendance at Audubon Ballroom when Malcolm X was assassinated. Witnessing this unforgettable “price of freedom” helped to shape her immense passion for cultivating social justice organizations.

She carried an innate appreciation of the arts. She understood that artists shared the responsibility to change the harsh realities of the environment by utilizing their gifts —and that art is a huge factor in culture. Thus, Lo unequivocally became a protector, a nurturer of artists and social justice events. In the mid-60s, she moved to 136 Cambridge Place in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. She co-founded Studio-O with Lenny Fraser, Tedjamola, Jokulo Cooper, Richard “Diz” Jackson and her brother Eduardo, who was a Freedom Rider and a mem- ber of the Brooklyn CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). She and the painter, Jokulo Cooper, later had a baby, Mabusha.

Around this time, Lo also co-founded The Reflection Gallery with Mel Camp- bell and others.

In the 70s, Lo travelled with Mabusha to Brazil to visit their family that lived there. Moreover, her work continued with the arts and organizations that

In the 70s, Lo travelled with Mabusha to Brazil to visit their family that lived there. Moreover, her work continued with the arts and organizations that fought for liberation both domestically and abroad. She was a member of the National Conference of Artists, a network of established and emerging African American artists. And Lo’s Place at 136 was a safe place of collaboration and creative expression. It was a welcoming space to many artists. She was often heard saying, “This is family…” and “You have to meet so-and-so, ‘cause she’s a good sister/he’s a good brother!” Her friend-family list is quite extensive, but here are a some of them: Jacques Goode, a poet and visual artist; the artists Floyd Sapp, Otto Neil, Hugh Harrell; the sculptor Onnie Miller; the historian Dr. John Henry Clark; the musician Nadi Qamar; the photographers Leroy Henderson, Chuck Smith and Bill Hilton; the singer/song writer Jose Feliciano; the jewelry maker Jazeel May; the film director Melvin Van Peebles.

At 1310 Atlantic Avenue, a Sisterhood Collective was forged with Ramona Bhuya, Aminisha Black.
Lo worked for a number of independent theater production companies.

Additionally, at 136 Cambridge Place, Lo co-founded Coco: Communications Co-op, a Brooklyn-based art collective which was a community organization that operated as a referral service for the artists of the Clinton Hill/Bedford Stuyvesant areas. The late Brenda Connor Bey, Claudine Brown, Mama Ramona Bhuya, Ric Wilmer, Bobby Watson, Marilyn Nance, Dawoud Bey, Asia Barnes and Delaine Davis were the other intellectuals and innovative souls that brought this to fruition.

Lo loved working with children. She taught photography at Young Minds Day Care and was an Art teacher with Art Without Walls in PS 46.
Her photography was displayed in numerous exhibitions throughout New York City.

Lo was an original staff member of Jazz 966, a venue that delivers live Jazz every Friday at the Fort Greene Senior Center.

Her smile was catching. Her empathy was authentic. Lo loved cooking and hosting and classical jazz playing in the background. Her walls held an impressive collection of art gathered over the decades from mostly her friend-family.
On Monday, September 20th, 2021 Lolita Joan Standard joined the Ancestors.
Peace Lo, you impacted many, many lives and are to be remembered in light and elevation!