Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 9-25-18

Features
Prominent Tampa Attorney Dies Of Leukemia
ATTORNEY BARRY COHEN August 3, 1939 – September 22, 2018
African American Greats Come To Life Again
At Saunders Library
Each of these exceptional individuals struggled to overcome prejudice and racial barriers to excel in their chosen fields: space (Mae Jemison), music (Berry Gordy), business and philanthropy (Madam C. J. Walker), science and research (Dr. Charles Drew), invention (Garret Morgan), as well as using their talents to break color barriers and advance civil rights (Rosa Parks).
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
After the success of its presentation earlier this year at the Saunders Library, StageWorks is returning to present “African American Greats,” in conjunction with the Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Branch Library and Wells- Fargo Bank.
Ms. Carrie Hurst, Prin- cipal Librarian at Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Branch Library, is excited about the upcoming event that will come to life in the library. She invites the public to enjoy the presenta- tion and join in the conversa- tion.
“African American Greats” will be presented at the library on Tuesday, Sep- tember 25, 2018, 6:30 p. m.-7:45 p. m.
After the program, there will be a “talk back” during which the audience will have an opportunity to ask ques- tions and share their reactions with the actors.
This program is free to the public.
Professional actors from StageWorks will be among those to perform monologues
INDIA C. DAVISON
as the notables of African American History. After the program, the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and share their re- actions with the actors.
Actors, India C. Davison and Joshua Goff, will per- form monologues of how the notables struggled to over- come prejudice and racial bar- riers to excel in their chosen fields.
Ms. Davison moved to Tampa not long ago after graduating from Barry Uni- versity in Miami, where she received her BFA.
Goff studied theatre at the University of South Florida.
JOSHUA GOFF
He has been performing in professional theatre in the Bay area for the last 20 years. He has been performing with StageWorks African Ameri- can Greats touring show for the last 15 years.
The actors show how sev- eral African American Greats used their talents to break color barriers and advance Civil Rights.
“This program was put to- gether by StageWorks and gifted to us,” Mrs. Hurst said. “We are excited to con- tinue our community partner- ship with StageWorks, and we want the community to share in this excitement.”
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Sunday, a memorial service was held for a promi- nent Tampa attorney. Attor- ney Barry Cohen died Saturday at the age of 79. At- torney Cohen had battled leukemia for the last year.
Attorney Cohen gradu- ated from Plant High School. He served a stint in the U. S. Coast Guard before continu- ing his education at Florida State University. He earned his law degree from Mercer University and launched his practice in 1975.
During a career that spanned several decades, At- torney Cohen earned a rep- utation as an aggressive and successful attorney. He often took on cases that remained in the headlines for several weeks.
One of those cases came about when he was hired by Steven and Marlene Aisenberg. The Aisen- bergs reported that someone had entered their home and kidnapped their 5-month-old daughter, Sabrina.
The parents were eventu- ally arrested and charged. However, the charges were dropped for insufficient evi- dence.
Sabrina was never found and the case remains an un- solved crime with the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s
Office. Attorney Cohen also represented the couple in a civil lawsuit against Hills- borough County.
Attorney Cohen also represented Jennifer Porter after she hit four sib- lings in 2004. She drove away without stopping after the ac- cident.
Two of the children died.
She was eventually charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.
She pleaded guilty, but served no prison time. Porter served two years on house arrest. After serving six month, Attorney Cohen re- quested her teacher’s certifi- cation be reinstated. It was.
He is survived by his wife and children.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3