In memoriam: Those we lost in 2023
NABJ Black News & Views salutes the change makers who transitioned in 2023.
August 08, born Ray Donovan Jacobs, 31
Jan. 2, 1991 — Aug. 28, 2023
Clarence Avant, 92, music executive & film producer
Feb. 25, 1931 — Aug. 13, 2023
John Beasley, 79, actor
June 26, 1943 — May 30, 2023
Paul Beasley, 78, gospel singer
Dec. 11, 1944 — March 13, 2023
Harry Belafonte, 96, actor, activist, singer
March 1, 1927 — April 25, 2023
Charles L. Blockson, 89, historian
December 16, 1933 — June 14, 2023
Vida Blue, 73, baseball player
July 28, 1949 — May 6, 2023
Ralph Boston, 83, olympian
May 9, 1939 — April 30, 2023
Torie Bowie, 32, olympian
Aug. 27, 1990 — April 23, 2023
Kwame Brathwaite, 85, photojournalist and activist
Jan. 1, 1938 — April 1, 2023
Andre Braugher, 61, Emmy-winning actor
July 1, 1962 — Dec. 11, 2023
George Brown, 74, drummer
Jan. 15, 1949 — Nov. 17, 2023
Jim Brown, 87, activist, actor, mentor, NFL player
Feb. 17, 1936 — May 18, 2023
Delores Browne, 88, ballerina and dance teacher
March 30, 1935 — Oct. 2, 2023
Grace Bumbry, 86, opera singer
Jan. 4, 1937 — May 7, 2023
William Dilday, 85, first Black TV station manager in the United States
Sept. 14 1937 — July 27, 2023
Lea Garcia, 90, actor, 'Black Orpheus'
March 11 1933 — Aug. 15, 2023
Irish Grinstead, 43, singer, 702
June 2, 1980 — Sept. 16, 2023
Jim Hines, 76, olympian
Sept. 10, 1946 — June 3, 2023
Richard Hunt, 88, sculptor
Sept. 12, 1935 — Dec. 16, 2023
Rudolph Isley, 84, singer/songwriter
April 1, 1939 — Oct. 11, 2023
Ahmad Jamal, 92, pianist
July 2, 1930 — April 16, 2023
Paul Jerrard, 57, assistant NHL coach
April 20, 1965 — February 15, 2023
Edward "Kidd" Jordan, 87, saxophonist
May 5, 1935 — April 7, 2023
David Jude Jolicoeur, 54, rapper, De La Soul
Sept. 21, 1968 — Feb. 12, 2023
Eddie Bernice Johnson, 88, former congresswoman
Dec. 3, 1935 — Dec. 31, 2023
Homer Jones, 82, retired NFL player
Feb. 18, 1941 – June 14, 2023
Ron Cephas Jones, 66, state and screen actor
Jan. 8, 1957 — Aug. 19, 2023
Jean Knight, 80, singer, 'Mr. Big Stuff'
Jan. 26, 1943 — Nov. 22, 2023
Emily Meggett, 90, star Gullah Geechee chef
Nov. 19, 1932 — April 21, 2023
Lola Mitchell a.k.a. Gangsta Boo, 43, rapper
Aug. 7, 1979 — Jan. 1, 2023
Charles Ogletree, 70, legal scholar
Dec. 31, 1952— Aug. 4, 2023
William 'D.J. Casper' Perry, 58, creator of the 'Cha-Cha Slide'
May 31, 1965 — Aug. 7, 2023
William Pinkney, 87, sailor
Sept. 15, 1935 — Aug. 31, 2023
Roslyn Pope, 84, civil rights activist
Oct. 29, 1938 — Jan. 18, 2023
Lance Reddick, 60, actor, musician
June 7, 1962 — March 17, 2023
Willis Reed, 80, retired NBA player and coach
June 25, 1942 — March 21, 2023
Randall Robinson, 61, founder, TransAfrica
July 6, 1941 — March 24, 2023
Richard Roundtree, 81, actor
July 9, 1942 – Oct. 24, 2023
Wayne Shorter, 89, jazz saxophonist
Aug. 25, 1933 — March 2, 2023
Aaron Spears, 47, drummer
Oct. 26, 1976 — Oct. 30, 2023
William Spriggs, 68, economist
April 8, 1955 — June 6, 2023
Barrett Strong, 81, singer/songwriter
Feb. 5, 1941 — Jan. 28, 2023
Charlie Thomas, 85, singer, The Drifters
April 7, 1937 – Jan. 31, 2023
Tina Turner, 83, singer
Nov. 26, 1939 — May 24, 2023
Andre Watts, 77, pianist
June 20, 1946 — July 12, 2023
Charles White, 64, Heisman Trophy winner
Jan. 22, 1958 — Jan. 11, 2023
Fred White, 67, musician, songwriter, early member of Earth, Wind & Fire
Jan. 13, 1955 — Jan. 1, 2023
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