The Right Reverend Philip R. Cousin, Sr. elected the ninety-sixth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1976. Bishop Cousin was appointed Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District at the recent 46th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference in July 2000. Bishop Cousin has been a member of the National Board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference since 1979;

President of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA 1983-1988; Chairman of Church World Service Unit Committee of the NCCC; National Board member of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); President, Board of Incorporates, AME Church. He was a delegate to the 1968 National Democratic Convention; chosen to dialogue with Pope John Paul II in 1987; and was selected by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans.Bishop Cousin who is known for his emphasis and support for ministerial education received a BA Degree from Central State University, Master of Divinity from Boston University and a Doctorate in Ministry from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. He served as President of Kittrel College in North Carolina at the age of 24. He is married to the former Margaret Joan Grier of Winston Salem, North Carolina, a giant in the struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa. They are the parents of five sons, all serving as pastors in the AME Church.