Charles "Chuck" Turner passed away

City council member Charles "Chuck" Turner (1940 - 2019) served as a member of the Boston City Council for over ten years. He has advocated for fair employment practices within the city of Boston, as well as the rights of those living in under-served and minority communities....

Cdr. William Bundy passed away

Commander Cdr. William Bundy (1946 - 2019) , one of the “Centennial Seven” African American submarine skippers rose from the enlisted ranks to earn a commission and command a submarine, served as a leader in the submarine force and later became a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and director of the VADM Samuel L. Gravely Research Group....

The Honorable Richard Hatcher passed away

Law professor and mayor The Honorable Richard Hatcher (1933 - 2019) was the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana and host of the National Black Political Assembly....

The Honorable Coy Payne passed away

Mayor The Honorable Coy Payne (1929 - 2019) was the first African American mayor elected in the State of Arizona. Payne served two terms as Mayor of Chandler, from 1990 to 1994, and oversaw the Sun Belt's economic and population boom....

Irving Burgie passed away

Songwriter and performer Irving Burgie (1924 - 2019) was a songwriter for three Harry Belafonte albums and wrote the lyrics for the Barbados national anthem. He authored Day-O!!!: The Autobiography of Irving Burgie, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007....

Reverend Clay Evans passed away

Civil rights leader Reverend Clay Evans (1925-2019) founded the Fellowship Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois in 1958 before co-founding Operation PUSH with Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1965, and later releasing eleven gospel albums....

Father George Clements passed away

Social activist and priest Father George Clements (1932 - 2019) adopted black children as Rector of the Holy Angels Church and School in Chicago, Illinois....

Harold Rogers passed away

Social activist and african american studies professor Harold Rogers (1942 - 2019) teaches at City Colleges of Chicago and is the Chicago spokesperson to the African National Congress....

Garth Reeves passed away

Newspaper publishing chief executive Garth Reeves (1919 - 2019) former president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, served as publisher and chief executive officer of the Miami Times for over twenty years....

Sidney L. Rushing passed away

City government administrator Sidney L. Rushing (1930 - 2019) has lived a life in service to the community of Gulfport, Mississippi, and is now the President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of Mississippi....

Marie Louise Greenwood passed away

Elementary school teacher Marie Louise Greenwood (1912 - 2019) was one of the first African American school teachers in Denver, Colorado, and donated The Marie Greenwood Papers to the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver, Colorado....

The Honorable Mary T. Christian passed away

Education professor and state delegate The Honorable Mary T. Christian (1924 - 2019) was the first African American to serve on the Hampton City School Board. Christian was also elected to the Virginia House of Delegates to became the first African American since reconstruction to represent the city of Hampton....

Bernard J. Tyson passed away

Chief executive officer and chief executive officer Bernard J. Tyson (1959 - 2019) was the first African American CEO of the $60 billion healthcare organization, Kaiser Permanente....

W. George Allen passed away

Civil rights activist and lawyer W. George Allen (1936 - 2019) has run his own law practice for over forty years. During the Civil Rights Movement, he organized lunch counter sit-ins and filed lawsuits for integration in Florida's Alachua and Broward counties....

Ernest J. Gaines passed away

Author Ernest J. Gaines (1933- ) published several novels and was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. The film version his novel A Lesson Before Dying won nine Emmy Awards....

The Honorable John Walker, Sr. passed away

Lawyer and political official John Walker, Sr. (1937- ) was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives 34th District in 2010 where he served four terms....

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. passed away

U.S. congressman The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (1929 - 2019) was the longest-serving African American in the United States House of Representatives....

Vera Ricketts passed away

Pharmacist and civic leader Vera Ricketts (1922 - 2019) worked at Howard University Hospital and Duke University Hospital. She also served as president of the Inglewood Pacific Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and was a founding member of the graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority....

The Honorable Paul Webber passed away

Superior court judge The Honorable Paul Webber (1934 - 2019) was a senior judge of the Washington, D.C. Superior Court....

James Donaldson passed away

Mathematician James Donaldson (1941 - 2019) served as the chairman of the the Howard University Department of Mathematics where he established the first Ph.D. degree-granting mathematics program at a Historically Black College and University....