Charleston Reporter

Elected officials in Charleston mourned the loss of former state Rep. Lucille Whipper, who made history when she became the first Black woman to represent Charleston County at the Statehouse.

Whipper, who died Aug. 27, also helped establish Charleston College's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture in 1985, MSN reported. 

"Lucille Whipper was quite simply one of the finest people I've ever known," Mayor John Tecklenburg (D-Charleston) wrote in a Facebook post. "She loved generously and well, lived her life with fortitude and purpose, and left the world better and kinder than she found it. Known to all for her great intellect and indomitable spirit, Lucille will be much missed, but never forgotten."

State Sen. Marlon Kimpson (D-Charleston) also paid tribute to Whipper by sharing a picture on Twitter. Kimpson said Whipper worked on his first campaign cabinet and helped guide him like family. 

"Her legacy will live on long after her death because of her work," Kimpson wrote in his tweet. "I'm deeply humbled to have had the opportunity to learn from her and will cherish the time spent forever."

Whipper graduated from Charleston's Avery Institute where she was a student activist and part of the class that wanted to desegregate the College of Charleston, according to The History Makers. She later was appointed as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Human Relations at the college and became the school's first African American administrator.