Obituaries

Harold’s Chicken Shack has long been a staple of Chicago food, with Kristen Pierce-Sherrod managing the chain since her father died in 1988.

Claudette Colvin was known for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus nine months before Rosa Parks. 

As we’ve come to understand year after year, day after day, death is an inevitable part of life—a universal truth that spares no one. Yet, despite its certainty, the weight of loss never becomes easier to bear, nor does the act of processing its impact. For those within Black culture, where community and shared experiences […]

Legendary dancer Carmen de Lavallade, who broke barriers and inspired generations, has passed away at 94.

Gospel legend Richard Smallwood, 8-time Grammy nominee, dies at 77 after kidney failure. Pioneered contemporary gospel sound.

Legendary Memphis soul artist Don Bryant, known for hits like 'I Can't Stand the Rain,' passes away at 83.

Pioneering Black Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin, 104, championed marginalized voices & ensured underrepresented histories were not forgotten.

As we’ve come to understand year after year, day after day even, death is unfortunately an inevitable part of life. Still, as much of a fact as that may be, the blow of experiencing loss never gets any easier, nor does reporting on the subject in Black culture.

Viola “Mother” Ford Fletcher, one of the last living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died in Tulsa at the age of 111.

Jimmy Cliff’s international breakthrough came in 1972 after starring and recording the soundtrack for the cult classic film 'The Harder They Come.' 

Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, a Black revolutionary who preached armed resistance, dies at 82.

Black Liberation Party member Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron, has died at the age of 78, according to family members.