Camille Cohen Jones
Camille Cohen Jones | |
|---|---|
 Camille Cohen Jones, from a 1929 profile in The Crisis | |
| Born | Camille Marie Cohen January 1, 1884 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | October 17, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Camille Cohen Bell |
| Occupation(s) | Community leader, clubwoman |
| Known for | Founder, Louisiana Club of Chicago |
| Father | Walter L. Cohen |
Camille Marie Cohen Jones (January 1, 1884 – October 17, 1928), sometimes written Camille Cohen-Jones, was an American community leader active in national women's and political organizations, and was the founder and leader of the Louisiana Social and Beneficial Club, also known as the Louisiana Club of Chicago. The club connected and assisted fellow black Louisianans arriving in Chicago as part of the Great Migration.
Early life and education
[edit]Cohen was born in New Orleans, the daughter of Walter L. Cohen and Wilhelmina Seldon Cohen. Her father, who was the Catholic son of a Jewish father and a Black mother, was an insurance executive and city official in New Orleans.[1] She graduated from Straight University at age 18.[2]
Career
[edit]Cohen was a clerk and a school teacher as a young woman, and worked as her father's private secretary. After her second marriage, she taught music,[3] sang on radio programs,[4] and was active in Chicago politics.[5] She was national chair of publicity for the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs[6][7] and a member of the National Republican League of Women Voters.[8] "Men should not have everything," she told an audience in 1924. "they certainly do not accomplish everything."[9]
She corresponded frequently with W. E. B. Du Bois in the 1920s, about politics and events in Chicago.[10] She was a contributing editor for the Associated Negro Press.[11]
In 1926, Jones founded the Louisiana Social and Beneficial Club, a "home club" to connect and support fellow black Louisianans arriving in Chicago.[2] The club held an annual Mardi Gras ball, processions, and other "spectacular and novel affairs", led by Jones.[12] She was also active in the Gaudeamus Charity Club and the Friendly Big Sisters Club.[13]
Publications
[edit]- "An Interview with President Mary McLeod Bethune" (1926, California Eagle)
- "Your Cab Company" (1927, The Crisis)[14]
- "Southeastern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs Ends Biennial at B'Ham June 8-12" (1927)[7]
Personal life
[edit]Camille Cohen married Alva Bell and had a daughter, Yolande;[6][15] they divorced. She married Oscar D. Jones and moved to Chicago. She died in 1928, at the age of 44, at her daughter's home in Chicago.[13] The cause of death was nephritis, and friends expressed concern that her illness was caused by a "some injurious reduction formula".[11] Journalist Wendell Dabney recalled her as "magnificent in her womanhood—a dark Brunhilda, handsome, large, and free; full of joy and laughter, frank and fearless, never biting her tongue; and yet one who was never still, never dull, always going and doing and dreaming; always alive, always generous, loving and kind."[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Calvin, Floyd J. (1928-06-09). "Says Cohen to Quit Politics". New Pittsburgh Courier. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Dabney, Wendell Phillips. "Camille Cohen" The Crisis (December 1929): 407.
- ^ "The Horizon". The Crisis. 25 (2): 76. December 1922.
- ^ "Station KYW". Bristol Herald Courier. 1923-08-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Negro Delegates Supply First Color Story in Convention (continued)". The Baltimore Sun. 1924-06-10. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Daughter Weds Rich Manufacturer". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1927-02-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Jones, Camille Cohen (1927-06-18). "Southeastern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs Ends Biennial at B'Ham". The Birmingham Reporter. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "Mrs. Camille Cohen Jones, Noted Club Woman, Dies". The Birmingham Reporter. 1928-10-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women Who Fail to Vote are Scored". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1924-06-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Correspondence between W. E. B. Du Bois and Camille Cohen Jones, 1923 to 1927, in the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
- ^ a b "Camille Cohen Jones Dies; Social, Political, and Club Leader Dies in Chicago". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1928-10-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Louisiana Social and Beneficial Club of Illinois Stage Beautiful Tableaux". The Broad Ax. 1927-01-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Camille Cohen Jones Dies". The Birmingham Reporter. 1928-10-27. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jones, Camille Cohen (March 1927). "Your Cab Company: How a Colored Man Organized a Cab Company in Chicago" (PDF). The Crisis. 34: 5–6.
- ^ Hutchinson, Louise (1962-10-17). "An Old Hand at Politics is Mrs. Johnson". Chicago Tribune. p. 39. Retrieved 2025-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
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