Fans, friends & family bid farewell to famed Atty. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. during funeral in L.A

Jet, April 25, 2005

More than 5,000 family members, clients, celebrities and admirers jammed the West Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles to say farewell to Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.

Cochran, who died recently at the age of 67 from an inoperable brain tumor, was eulogized as a modern-day Thurgood Marshall" who fought for the civil rights of many on his "journey to justice."

"Journey to Justice" was the theme of the funeral that lasted four hours and featured more than 25 speakers and was open to the public.

"Johnnie Cochran was to this era what Thurgood Marshall was to the era before," Rev. Al Sharpton told the packed cathedral.

He pointed to O.J. Simpson, Cochran's most celebrated client, and said: "With all due respect to you Brother Simpson. when we heard about the acquittal, we weren't clapping for O.J. We were clapping for Johnnie. We were clapping because for decades our brothers, our cousins, our uncles had to stand in the well with no one to stand up for them. And finally a Black man came and said, 'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.'"

The crowd roared and gave Sharpton a long and sustained ovation.

Rev. Jesse Jackson described Cochran as "the David who slew Goliath over and over. Whether it was O.J. or Michael (Jackson) and P. Diddy, he kept winning."

One of the most moving moments of the lengthy service occurred when Cochran's brother-in-law, William Baker, and daughter, Tiffany Cochran Edwards, now a broadcaster in Atlanta, told the crowd how he fought and struggled to be able to walk her down the aisle last year without a cane or crutches.

Baker said: "The physical therapy program was just so he could walk his daughter down the aisle in August. Johnnie saw death coming and fought it valiantly."

Tiffany teared up when she talked of her father's struggle. "The proudest moment of my life was my wedding last August. He was so determined to walk me down that aisle without a cane. He did it with so much style and grace and elegance. I learned more about determination that day than I did from any trial."

She said she knows that he's "the best dressed angel in heaven."

Her siblings, Melodie and Jonathan, also gave glowing and amusing stories about growing up with their father.

Melodie said: "The theme of my dad's funeral and his life is 'Journey to Justice.' Justice is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. So, we know it was important to God."

She said "justice was swift" when she, at age 10, put her father' s car in drive and took off while he ran into a dry cleaners.

Jonathan said he knew that as his father's popularity increased, they all knew they'd have to share him with the world. "God needed a lawyer and someone said, 'Call Johnnie Cochran.'"

The ceremony was presided by Cochran's minister, Dr. William S. Epps of Second Baptist Church in L.A., and Dr. Calvin Butts of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York.

Two public viewings preceded the funeral. One was held at Second Baptist and the other was at Angelus Funeral Home.

The funeral was held at West Angeles because of its seating capacity. Both ministers urged speakers to be brief in their adoration of Cochran. But that fell on deaf ears as all told rousing tales of the man who became America's most famous attorney.

Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise, told the crowd "he took his work seriously, but he didn't take himself" seriously. His only failing was that he didn't know when to stop giving of himself."

Fellow members of the Simpson "Dream Team," Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, praised Cochran's legal genius.

Neufeld recalled when Cochran took on the case of Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant sodomized at a New York police station. He said that for Cochran it wasn't enough to get a large settlement. He demanded police reform. Neufeld said. Ronald Sunderland, an attorney and longtime Cochran friend, also spoke.

The ceremony featured politicians such as L.A. Mayor James Hahn, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, filmmaker Spike Lee, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Angela Bassett and famed attorneys F. Lee Bailey and Gloria Allred.

Cochran's clients were asked to stand and a large ovation went out when Michael Jackson rose from his seat.

A thunderous ovation went out when Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt (now known as Geronimo "ji Jaga" Pratt) rose and took the podium. Pratt is the client who provided Cochran with his proudest moment.

Pratt was jailed for 27 years for the murder of a White woman in Santa Monica. Cochran fought tirelessly for his release and finally was able to get the charges dropped.

"I'm still numb behind my brother's leaving," he said. He called Cochran 'the chief' and went on to say: "Johnnie taught me so much."

New York Congressman Charles Rangel told the audience that "so many dreams and aspirations have been made possible because of Johnnie Cochran."

Herman J. Russell, owner of one of the nation's largest Black construction companies, told the audience that Cochran, as an Airport Commissioner in L.A. helped him with his bid to get work on the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.