The Honorable Joan Scott Wallace passed away

Academic administrator and cabinet appointee The Honorable Joan Scott Wallace (1930 - 2018) was the first female vice president of the National Urban League, and has served as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, head of the International Cooperation and Development Agency, Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, and CEO of Americans for Democracy in Africa....

Olly Wilson passed away

Music professor and music composer Olly Wilson (1937 - 2018 ) was professor emeritus of music at the University of California, Berkeley. His recordings and compositions include, "Cetus," "Piano Piece," "Sinfonia," and, "In Memoriam Martin Luther King, Jr."...

Ann Yancy passed away

Gospel singer Ann Yancy (1930 - 2018 ) had a long career as a gospel singer both in Chicago and nationally. In addition to performing around the country with famous Gospel ensembles, Yancy's children also became successful within the Gospel music community....

The Honorable Togo D. West, Jr. passed away

Government lawyer and presidential appointee The Honorable Togo D. West, Jr. (1942 - 2018 ) was the Secretary of the U.S. Army, and also held positions as associate deputy attorney general and general counsel to the Navy. West served as the deputy secretary of defense, general counsel to the United States Department of Defense and became President and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in 2004....

Grayson Mitchell passed away

Business consulting chief executive and newspaper reporter Grayson Mitchell (1950 - 2018 ) was the founder, chairman and CEO of Summit Consulting, Inc., Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Consultancy. He served as a political reporter for the 'Chicago Sun-Times,' Washington editor for Jet and Ebony magazines, Washington columnist for Black Enterprise magazine and director of corporate communications for Johnson Products....

Dr. Donald E. Jackson passed away

Veterinarian Dr. Donald E. Jackson (1926 - 2018 ) opened his All Pets Clinic in Wichita, Kansas, in 1957. This small animal hospital treated cats, dogs and other pets and remained busy until Jackson retired in 2001. Civic minded and committed to youth, Jackson volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America, serving as a scout leader and a district representative judging eagle scout candidates....

Peggy Cooper Cafritz passed away

Community leader Peggy Cooper Cafritz (1947 - 2018 ) was president of the Washington, D.C. Board of Education, and an award-winning documentary producer. While attending law school in Washington, D.C., Cafritz founded the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, which was initially a summer arts workshop for minority children, but was later accepted into the public school system in 1974....

Dr. Alfred Stovall passed away

Association chief executive and family practitioner Dr. Alfred Stovall (1936 - 2018) is the founder and president of the Fort Wayne Black Medical-Dental Association....

Lerone Bennett passed away

Historian Lerone Bennett (1928 - 2018 ) served as the executive editor of Ebony magazine for almost forty years. His written work, including a seminal piece of literature, "Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, 1619-1962," explored the history of race relations in the United States, as well as the current environment in which African Americans strive for equality....

Capt. Samuel Saxton passed away

Captain Capt. Samuel Saxton (1929 - 2018) was the former director of corrections for Prince George's County, Maryland and a retired captain in the U.S. Marine Corps....

Marie Johnson-Calloway passed away

Painter and art professor Marie Johnson-Calloway (1920 - 2018 ) was hired as the first African American public school teacher in San Jose. Calloway's paintings, based on her memories of life in the South, have been exhibited throughout the United States and Japan....

Harold Haizlip passed away

Educator Harold Haizlip (1935 - 2018) was Commissioner of Education to the U.S. Virgin Islands for St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. He served as vice president of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, as the executive director of the “I Have A Dream” Foundation and Communities in Schools, Inc. in California, and as the executive director for the After School Arts Program (ASAP) of LA’s BEST....

Jacquie Jones passed away

Film producer Jacquie Jones (1965 - 2018 ) founded the New Media Institute and Public Media Corps and served as executive director of the National Black Programming Consortium. Her film credits included Africans in America, Matters of Race, Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, Behind Closed Doors: Sex in the 20th Century and The World Before Us. Her writing appeared in Black Popular Culture, Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography and The Huffington Post....

Lenon Lathan passed away

Montford pointe marine Lenon Lathan (1926 - 2018 ) served in the Pacific Theater during World War II with the 243rd Marine Depot Company and the 25th Marching Depot Company....

Reverend Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker passed away

Civil rights activist and pastor Reverend Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker (1928 - 2018 ) founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1957. He also served as the senior pastor of Canaan Baptist Church in Harlem for thirty-seven years....

The Honorable William Cousins, Jr. passed away

Circuit court judge The Honorable William Cousins, Jr. (1927 - 2018 ) was elected as Circuit Court Judge of Cook County, and presided as a judge on the Illinois Appellate Court. He was also appointed chairman of the Illinois Judicial Conference and as a member of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Capital Cases....

Jack Whitten passed away

Painter Jack Whitten (1939 - 2018 ) created abstract paintings for over half a century, exhibiting at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, among others....

Reverend Henry Soles passed away

Chaplain Reverend Henry Soles (1935 - 2018 ) was the senior chaplain of the Chicago Bulls basketball team....

The Honorable Frankie Freeman passed away

U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner The Honorable Frankie Freeman (1916 - 2018 ) was a former municipal court judge for St. Louis, Missouri and was the first female member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Freeman was the lead attorney for the NAACP case, Davis et al v. St. Louis Housing Authority....

Bernice Irene Sumlin passed away

Association chief executive and educator Bernice Irene Sumlin (1926 - 2018) was the 19th International President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She served as a high school teacher, guidance counselor, community counselor and secondary principal. After retiring from education, she worked as an industrial consultant for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base....