Bishop Jacob Cohen, longtime leader of Overtown church founded by his father, dies at 88

The name Cohen has always rung loudly in the African American community. We all knew Bishop Amazish Melvin Cohen, founder and pastor of Miami Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), where it was known to be a place where the lost could find a spiritual bath for their soul.

It was in such a place that Bishop Jacob Cohen, the 12th of 18 children of Elder Cohen and his wife Mamie Evans Cohen, grew up and was nourished.

Jacob Cohen died Thursday in Miami. He was 88.

Cohen was educated in Miami Dade-County schools, starting at Dunbar Elementary and graduating from Booker T. Washington Junior/Senior High School.

He was smart and was known to pay attention to every little detail. He had a zeal for life and was concerned about his community and the people who lived in it. In his quiet, gentle way, he set an example for his peers to follow.

After high school, Cohen enrolled at Florida A&M University (then college), but decided to leave early to enlist in the U.S. Army, where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. After leaving the Army with an honorable discharge, Cohen enrolled in Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C. His outgoing, friendly personality led him to become one of the student leaders. He graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in Education.

It was while at Fayetteville that he accepted the Lord as his personal Savior, and was later called into the ministry at Anderson Temple Church of God in Christ. During this time, Cohen met the pretty Josie Mae Jackson and made her his life companion. They had been married 57 years when she died in October 2011.

In Fayetteville, Cohen served as associate minister of Anderson Temple, and was president of the Fayetteville District Young People Willing Workers (Y.P.W.W.).

But as much as Cohen loved Fayetteville, he loved his father and Miami more, and returned home to assist his ailing father in the ministry, while also teaching in the Miami-Dade Public Schools system. When his father died in 1959, Cohen was appointed pastor of Miami Temple, now known as A.M. Cohen Temple, 1747 NW Third Ave. in Overtown.

Cohen later retired from the school system, and served on the General Board of COGIC, the governing board of the international denomination. Under his leadership the Eastern Florida jurisdiction grew from approximately 50 to more than 114 churches.

Cohen’s granddaughter, LaToya Cohen Johnson, remembers him as a “warm, intelligent and generous man who had a great sense of humor. Biologically he was my grandfather, but I took him as a father. He sent me to college, and when it was time for me to marry, he served as father-of-the-bride.”

“We had a special bond. … I have fond memories of the stories he told me about his childhood and the song he made up to sing to me when I was little. … He was a blessing to me and all who knew him.”

Cohen’s survivors include his last remaining sibling, Mamie Cohen.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at New Birth Baptist Church, 2300 NW 135th St., Miami.

Writers’ Conference

The Hogges and Cowins Book Festival and Writers’ Conference will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 22-23 in the community room at Carrie P. Meek Manor Apartments, 330 NW 19th St. in Overtown.

Speakers include T. Willard Fair; Willie F. Logan, Ph.D.; Lyra Blizzard Logan, esq.; Robert G. Beatty, esq., and the Rev. Abraham J. Thomas Jr.

The conference is free. Day One will feature authors, panels, readings and book sales. Day Two will feature lectures on writing — character building, plot setting and how to “take the leap” of transforming your books into bucks.

Everyone is welcome. For more information, email ralphhogges@bellsouth.net

Black History Month presentation

As a part of its Black History program, the Women of Zion of the Historic Mount Zion Baptist Church, 301 NW Ninth St. in Overtown, will present Deaconess Saundra Douglas as the keynote speaker at 10:45 a.m. Sunday (Feb. 16). All are welcome.

Women’s health event

The community is invited to the T & J Fighting for Women’s Health event, featuring “A Healthy Ladies Night Out,” from 6 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 29 at KD Event Hall, 817 NW 119th St.

Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased by calling Tanisha M. Nelson at 786-975-4501, or by sending an email to nelsontanisha203@gmail.com.

Free tax preparation at Hialeah church

Palm Springs United Methodist Church at 5700 W. 12th Ave. in Hialeah is offering free tax preparation every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon in Room 4. Interested persons should call 305-688-3551, ext. 2008, to make an appointment.

Also, free homework help is available to children in grades second through fifth, from 3 to 5 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No registration. Just show up.

In addition, the church will have an ongoing indoor rummage sale from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturdays.

This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 7:00 AM.