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....

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....

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....

Bishop John Hurst Adams passed away

Bishop Bishop John Hurst Adams (1927 - 2018 ) served as Bishop for the African Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty-two years and rose to national prominence as a religious and civil rights leader....

Mercer Cook passed away

State deputy attorney Mercer Cook (1930 - ) has served as Assistant State’s Attorney and Deputy State’s Attorney for Cook County, after which he went into private practice....

John W. Barfield, Sr. passed away

Maintenance company chief executive John W. Barfield, Sr. (1927 - 2018 ) founded The Bartech Group, named the 1985 "Company of the Year" by Black Enterprise. Barfield received The George Romney Award recognizing lifelong achievement in volunteerism....

Joseph Johnson passed away

College president and university president Joseph Johnson (1934 - 2018 ) is the former president of both Grambling State University and Talladega College. Johnson retired in 1998....

Lt. Col. Donald Campbell passed away

Academic administrator and lieutenant colonel Lt. Col. Donald Campbell (1935 - 2017 ) was a long standing member of the Maricopa County Community College District Board and a retired military veteran. Campbell was the first African American to be accepted into the Arizona Air National Guard and the first African American in the Alabama National Guard....

Reverend Jerry A. Moore, Jr. passed away

Association chief executive, city council member, and pastor Reverend Jerry A. Moore, Jr. (1918 - 2017 ) was the former pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and a former city council member for the City of Washington, D.C....

Simeon Booker passed away

Magazine reporter and newspaper reporter Simeon Booker (1918 - 2017 ) worked for Johnson Publishing Company for fifty-three years, covering the Emmitt Till Murder and Trial, the Freedom Rides and the events of the Civil Rights Movement....

Reverend Curtis Harris passed away

Mayor and pastor Reverend Curtis Harris (1924 - 2017 ) was the first African American council member, vice mayor and mayor of Hopewell, Virginia....

Cordell Reed passed away

Energy executive Cordell Reed (1938 - 2017) was the former senior vice president and nuclear power public spokesman of Commonwealth Edison, serving in three separate departments. Reed also represented ComEd in a 1995 trade mission to South Africa....

Clyde Martin passed away

Regional sales manager Clyde Martin (1936 - 2017 ) staged protests as a student and later worked to integrate Jay's Potato Chips. The regional sales manager for Jay's, he also served as inspector for the Internal Affairs Division of the Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department....

Della Reese-Lett passed away

Television actress and singer Della Reese-Lett (1931 - 2017 ) has been performing and recording music since 1953 and was the first African American woman to host her own television program. Reese was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....

Pete Moore passed away

Singer, songwriter, and producer Pete Moore (1939 - 2017)...

The Honorable David S. Cunningham, Jr. passed away

City council member The Honorable David S. Cunningham, Jr. (1935 - 2017 ) represented the Tenth District as a Los Angeles City Councilman, as well as serving as state chairman of the California Delegation to the Democratic National Committee in 1976. Later in his career, Cunningham formed Dave Cunningham and Associates, a public affairs consultant firm....

Augustus Colson passed away

Publishing chief executive Augustus Colson (1936 - 2017 ) started his own publishing company, Church Times, which combined his artistic and writing abilities, and used them to increase communications in the African American church community....

Robert Guillaume passed away

Actor Robert Guillaume (1927 - 2017 ) was a two time Emmy Award winner, and the star of the first television show to feature an interracial couple, entitled The Robert Guillaume Show....