Remembering Harold "Hal" B. Jackson - November 3, 1915 - May 23, 2012 - Jackson was the first black voice on network radio, initially serving as a play-by-play sports reporter in Washington, D.C., and later moving to New York to help establish Inner City, one of the first black-owned broadcasting companies. Hal Jackson, one of the "Founding Fathers" of broadcasting, died Wed., May 23, after more than 70 years in broadcasting. He was 97. Known as a unique pioneer who broke numerous color barriers in the entertainment industry, Jackson was a civil rights crusader, a civic leader, and considered an iconic living legend.
Elizabeth Catlett Remembered - April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012 - Staff writer Barrington Salmon memorialized Catlett who was an artist regarded as a Giant of 20th and 21st centuries Catlett, 96, died in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which she had made her home for the past 60 years. The Washington D.C. native gained international fame for sculptures and prints that focused on different elements of black life, as well as issues revolving around civil and human rights. Her style is said to have best reflected the social realism brought to the fore by artists like famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, her mentor Grant Wood and her first husband artist Charles White.
Don Cornelius' Death Raises Concern about Suicide September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012 On the first day of Black History Month, the nation was rocked by news that Don Cornelius, music industry pioneer and founder of the long-running Soul Train television show was dead, apparently the victim of self-inflicted gun hot wound. At age 75, the Associated Press reported, Cornelius had "suffered from health problems, a difficult divorce, and had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor spousal battery charge in 2009."
Actor, Educator Al Freeman Jr. – March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012 Beloved actor and recently retired Howard University professor Al Freeman, Jr., died, Aug. 9 at age 78. Freeman was loved for the dignity and respect he brought to such characters as Spike Lee's Elijah Muhammad in the film Malcolm X, and police captain Ed Hall on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1979. A long-time resident of Washington, D.C.'s Southwest marina, Freeman was born Albert Cornelius Freeman, Jr. on March 21, 1934, in San Antonio, Texas. Freeman's other TV credits include "The Cosby Show," "Law and Order," "Homicide: Life On the Street," and "The Edge of the Night." Freeman was remembered by friends, family, fans, and Howard family, as a "gentleman among men" in a remembrance service held at Howard University's Cramton Auditorium, Monday, September 10, titled The Life and Legacy of Professor Albert C. Freeman, Jr.
Actor, Larry Hagman September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012, the actor audiences loved to hate as the character J.R. Ewing on the popular primetime soap opera Dallas, died Friday, November 23, after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.
Steven Newsome Celebrated for His Life's Work - September 11, 1952 – September 27, 2012 - Scores of people recently gathered in a noted theater in the District to honor a man who, by way of artistic expression, supported African-American museums, cultural organizations and stressed their intrinsic value to both the community and the country. Steven Cameron Newsome, the former director of the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast, died on Sept. 27. To honor his many accomplishments over the years, a fitting tribute, "A Celebration of Life" program was held at the Arena Stage's The Mead Center for American Theater in Southwest on Sunday, Dec. 2 and his friends and family feted him with a display of dancing, singing and acting as well as personal reflections.
A Civil Rights Warrior Remembered; Lawrence Guyot Leaves a Void That Cannot Be Filled - July 17, 1939 – November 23, 2012 - Guyot never encountered a fight he didn't relish and that willingness to put his body, ideals and life on the line is what those who knew him remember in the days since his death on Friday, Nov. 23. Guyot, a renowned civil rights activist, died at his home in Mt. Rainier, Md., following a long illness. He is survived by wife Monica, two children, Lawrence III, Julie and four grandchildren. The Mississippi native was one of the young foot soldiers – black and white – who fought to topple the centuries-old tradition of segregation and who faced down savage packs of white racists intent on maintaining the status quo.
Also, To Be Remembered ...
Angelo Dundee – August 30, 1921 – February 1, 2012
Arlen Specter – February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012
Bernie McCain – November 18, 1936 – October 13, 2012
Charles "Skip" Pitts – April 7, 1947 – May 1, 2012
Dick Clark – November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012
Don Grady – June 8, 1944 – June 27, 2012
Emmanuel Steward – July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012
Ernest Borgnine – January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012
Etta James – January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012
Freddie Solomon – January 11, 1953 – February 13, 2012
George Lindsey – December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012
George McGovern – July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012
Gore Vidal – October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012
Helen Gurley Brown – February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012
Herb Reed – August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012
Jimmy Ellis – Nov. 15, 1937 – March 8, 2012
Junior Seau – January 19, 1969 – May 2, 2012
Major Harris – February 9, 1947 – November 9, 2012
Mike Wallace – May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012
Michael Clarke Duncan – December 10, 1957 – September 3, 2012
Neil Armstrong – August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012
Natina Reed – October 28, 1979 – October 26, 2012
Sherman Hemsley – February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012
Andy Griffith – June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012
Robin Gibbs – December 22, 1949 – 20, May 2012
Rodney King – April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012
Sen. Warren Rudman – May 18, 1930 – November 19, 2012
Ron Palillo – April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012
Sun Yun Moon – February 25, 1920 – September 3, 2012
Richard Dawson – November 20, 1932 – June 2, 2012
Phyllis Diller – July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012
Vidal Sassoon – January 17, 1928 – May 9, 2012
Chuck Brown – August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012
William Raspberry – October 12, 1935 – July 17, 2012
Hal Jackson – November 3, 1914 – May 23, 2012
Donna Summer – December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012
Anthony Shadid – September 26, 1968 – February 16, 2012
Click here to see To Be Remembered photo gallery.