The Award, established in 1985 by The Mission Baptist Church, recognizes and celebrates the national contributions of "Elevators of Humanity" - individuals who are national mentors, defending the downtrodden with passion and zeal with an open and compassionate spirit. Although many of these individuals do all within their limited means and influence to encourage others to reach their personal and professional zeniths, their contributions and philanthropic exploits are seemingly devoid of gratitude, and often they are eclipsed by others who are less principled but more popular and more partisan, relegating them to archaic categories of unsung heroes and heroines.
It is a posthumous honour and tribute for the late founding pastor of The Mission Baptist Church, Reverend Dr. R. E. Cooper, Senior, who was a Bahamian hero, scholar, theologian extraordinaire and social reformer; one who loved his faith and country, serving faithfully and meritoriously for forty (40) years until his death in 1980. Despite his numerous accomplishments, his primary concern was to ensure the elevation of the ordinary man, whose talents were unexplored, and who was often overlooked in his professional and vocational fields.
