Bill Russell, the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics dynasty that won eight straight titles and 11 overall during his career, died Sunday.
The Hall of Famer was 88.
Russell died "peacefully" with his wife, Jeannine, at his side, a statement posted on social media read. Arrangements for his memorial service will be announced soon, according to the statement.
The statement did not give the cause of death, but Russell, who had been living in the Seattle area, was not well enough to present the NBA Finals MVP trophy in June because of a long illness.
"But for all the winning, Bill's understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life," the statement said. "From boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to unmask too-long-tolerated discrimination, to leading Mississippi's first integrated basketball camp in the combustible wake of Medgar [Evers'] assassination, to decades of activism ultimately recognized by his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change.
Actress, singer, and voice artist, Nichelle Nichols born Grace Dell Nichols on December 28, 1932. Nichols was admired and beloved for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels.
Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for Black Women characters on television.
At one point during the series Nichols wanted to quit Star Trek but was encouraged by Martin Luther King Jr., to continue on because of the legacy and inspiration she represented for the future of inclusion.
From 1977 to 2015, #NichelleNichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities.
As of 2021, Nichols was one of four surviving members of the original cast of Star Trek, the others being William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig.
We lost one of the all time greats recently.. Mr. Bill Withers... He died at 81 on March 30th....here are three of my all time favorite Bill Withers songs...
Another great has left us..Jazz Singer,Al Jarreau died yesterday.....I had just heard that he was planning to retire from touring and just record....Unfortunately for us...He'll be doing none of that now..
Seven-time Grammy winner Al Jarreau has died. His passing comes two days after an announcement was made on his website that he was retiring from touring due to exhaustion.
Al Jarreau had been in a hospital in Los Angeles and was "slowly recovering," according to a statement posted on Thursday. He was 76 years old.
Al Jarreau died at 5:30 a.m. PT Sunday, according to a statement from his booking agent Bob Zievers. Gordon said in lieu of flowers or gifts, Al Jarreau's family requested contributions be made to the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music.
Al Jarreau received a lifetime achievement award from the foundation last fall, and an endowment to benefit Milwauke Public School children needing financial assistance for music programs was established in his name.
First singing at church and PTA meetings when he was four or five, Al Jarreau told the Journal Sentinel it was at Lincoln High School where " "My love of music and singing really deepened. I began to have ideas of taking this as far as it could go. And I kept dreaming that dream and nourishing that dream."
He took that dream exceptionally far. Al Jarreau has 20 albums to his name, and is the only Grammy vocalist to win in the jazz, pop and R&B categories.
He performed 50 concerts last year, including at the White House.
AlJarreau is survived by his wife Susan and son Ryan.
Muhammad Ali is gone...As Mike Tyson said..."God has come for his champion.." I got the tragic news early this morning that the Greatest Of All Time had died of respiratory failure, due to complications from the Parkinson's Disease he had battled for thirty some years...
“I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be
what you want me to be, I’m free to be what I want." That's my favorite
Ali quote....
If Muhammad Ali taught me anything , it was to always be true to
yourself and don't compromise who you are...Because even though people
may hate you today...People and public opinion are fickle...Chances
are...They'll love you tomorrow.... Rest Well Champ...You were always my
champion....(1942-2016)
This is a post that breaks my heart to write....The man in the photo above is my second cousin, Howard Lanier III...
Today is his birthday...Had he of lived...He would have been 32 years old...
He died this past Thursday...We don't know the reason yet...He went into Cardiac Arrest and died soon after...
31 years old...
That's how old I was when I got married...
Life was just beginning.....
That photo above was taken on his wedding day, this past November....The happiest day of his life...It was also the last time I saw him alive...
I can't get ahold of this...He was such a vibrant young man...College Graduate...Had just bought a beautiful house and married for about four or five months...I didn't get to know his wife...
No one this young with so much promise, so much life...Should be dropping dead...I just can't get around it...
He was a phenominal young man and I was so proud of how he was conducting his life....I'm still trying to wrap myself around the fact that he is no longer amongst the living...
I'll do my weekend Humor post tomorrow....I got the news late last night, That Maurice White, the founder and bandleader of one of my favorite groups, Earth,Wind and Fire died...
Maurice White, age 74, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Thursday morning. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease.
His band, Earth, Wind & Fire had a series of hits including September, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone. Among others too numerous to name here..
The singer-songwriter was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1992 but his condition was reported to have gotton worse in recent months.
Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice White, himself was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.
Popularly known by his nickname of Reese, he worked with various well-known recording artists such as The Emotions, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Neil Diamond.
"My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep," Verdine White, also a member of the band, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
"While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected as we start what will be a very difficult and life changing transition in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes."
The group tweeted: "Our brother Maurice White passed peacefully in his sleep this morning. The light is he, shining on you and me.
Bette Midler was among those to pay tribute to the star on Twitter: "Maurice White, founding member of Earth, Wind and Fire, has died. Great music, energy, great spirit. The Lord must need a band up there."
"Thank you Maurice White for creating some of the greatest soul funk and R&B music of all time. Gratitude," wrote Mark Ronson.
Queen Latifah thanked White "for the gift of your music!" and singer and actress Jill Scott said: "Your music is the template of spirituality and greatness. Thank you. Be ever wonderful".
Lenny Kravitz posted a fulsome tribute on Instagram: "King. Genius. Leader. Teacher. Producer. Arranger. Writer. Multi-instrumentalist. Motivator. Mystic. Through his music and artistic expression, he taught me a lifetime's worth of knowledge. He is at the top of the list of all of the greatest masters. The music he left behind as Earth Wind and Fire, mixed with his messages of love, will live on forever."
Earth, Wind & Fire have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide. Many of the group's earlier hits were characterised by Phillip Bailey's bright falsetto voice.
In an interview with the Associated Press news agency in 2000, Maurice White said that he wanted Earth, Wind & Fire's music to inspire people rather than just entertain them.
"That was the whole objective, to try to inspire young people to believe in themselves and to follow through on their ideas," he said.
"We've touched so many people with these songs." he said.
He and Earth Wind and Fire certainly touched me. The band is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band music played at concerts where they performed in glitzy costumes underneath multi-coloured lights. They played at many top venues including the Super Bowl and the White House.
"We live in a negative society,'" White informed Newsweek at the peak of the band's success. "Most people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine."
In other tributes, Nile Rodgers posted a YouTube video with the tweet: "Back in the day we paid homage to your genius before we were Chic!," calling Maurice White "one of the most amazing innovators of all time".
"Just heard we lost #MauriceWhite,echoed Beverley Knight. "Gutted although I knew he was ill a long time. Soundtrack of my childhood. Seminal R&B smashers."
This year's Oscar host, Chris Rock, tweeted an image of the singer, with the words: "R.I.P the great Maurice White. 'You can't hide love'."
"Your contributions to music will be kept in our hearts and souls foever," posted Quincy Jones on Twitter, paying tribute to the star.
CeeLo Green wrote: "Rest well master Maurice White. Your work was well done and you earned and deserve eternal peace."
On the radio, DJs Nick Grimshaw, Christian O'Connell and Lauren Laverne all paid tribute to the singer, with O'Connell renaming his breakfast show Boogie Wonderland.
Earth ,Wind & Fire was one of three acts...(The others being Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers ) who whenever they came out with an album...It was a MAJOR EVENT!!! Play any song by EWF and I can tell you where I was, What girl I was liking...What school I was going to...What was going on in my life at the time...They were just that type of group! (Remembering Maurice White!)
Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, often described as the Queen Mother of Black Consciousness, died this morning at the age of 80. According to friends and family, Dr. Welsing suffered a stroke on New Year’s Day and was in critical condition at a Washington, D.C. hospital.
Dr. Welsing became famous for her work the Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation in 1974 and later published The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors in 1991. Her books explored the symbols and systemic practices of White supremacy and revealed the psychological dynamics of racism.
I don't know how many of you read the comments on my blog .......but for those of you who did...You knew that a common and often very opinionated commenter went by the name "Arlene"....If you really paid attention to the comments...you probably figured out that she was my cousin...
She was one of the first commenters on this blog and it's biggest fan...my constant champion...This past Friday, sadly...she transitioned out of this life....I wrote this on my Facebook page Friday..
"My Heart is broken....My dear cousin Arlene..(Shown here in happier
times with one of her sons) lost her battle with cancer this
morning....I can't imagine a world without Arlene in it...I can't
imagine a family gathering without her voice, without her saying
prayer...I can't imagine anything right now...I know that she is no
longer in any pain...no longer suffering....I'll miss you baby...Loved
you dearly....Rest in Paradise! (Arlene Johnson - September 8, 1952-
September 18 ,2015)
You had to know my cousin Arlene.. She was a presence...One of those people with a personality and voice so big that you just had to notice...More Articulate than I could ever be....A kind and loving spirit who held the family together....
If you were her friend or more so, her relative and family member and you found yourself in trouble..More times than not,She would show up by your side fighting for you.
She was more than a cousin to me...She was like a big sister....She was one of my wife's bridesmaids even...That's the kind of person she was.
I could say a lot more but I can't right now. You do understand....
Words can't say, No words I write can tell you how much I'll miss her...How I still can't believe she's no longer with us...
This Blog just won't be the same without her comments...
We lost a true warrior for civil rights this weekend!
Julian Bond came of age during that critical
time in this nation’s history when winning equal rights for all took a great
deal: a clear head, a big heart, a razor-sharp intellect, and a way with words.
Horace Julian Bond had it all. And he could wrap all of it up to create whatever was
needed at the time – either a tool or a weapon, a poem or a sermon. He was
driven by a commitment to make America better.
While a Morehouse-based member of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), helping to organize the Freedom Summer of 1964 and its massive voter
registration drive in Mississippi, Julian Bond took to task the American public
and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
“We have learned through bitter experience in the past three years that the
judicial, legislative and executive bodies of Mississippi form a wall of
absolute resistance to granting civil rights to Negroes. It is our conviction
that only a massive effort by the country backed by the full power of the
President can offer some hope for even minimal change in Mississippi.” he
Those words came from a letter Julian Bond wrote on April 28, 1964 to one of
America’s most inspiring writers, James Baldwin. He was writing to encourage
James Baldwin to join a “jury” to hear “testimony” about Civil Rights violations from
African Americans facing discrimination in employment, housing, and voting
rights in Mississippi. Under a plan designed by SNCC and other members of the
Council of Federated Organizations, the testimony would be presented to the
President so he would be moved to create a government-sanctioned way to protect
the Freedom Summer workers.
“The President must be made to understand that this responsibility rests with
him, and him alone, and that neither he nor the American people can afford to
jeopardize the lives of the people who will be working in Mississippi this
summer by failing to take the necessary precautions before the summer begins.” He wrote.
Julian Bond’s letter to James Baldwin has entered the collections of the National Museum of
African American History and Culture. It will be used alongside similar
documents to show how people like Julian Bond helped design and fuel the Civil
Rights Movement.
Mr. Bond was so committed to helping us tell that story well, that he became a
member of the museum’s Civil Rights History Project advisory committee. In that
role he helped us land interviews with some of the most important workers in
the movement; he also conducted two of the more than 150 interviews for this
oral history project. One was with Lawrence Guyot, the director of the 1964
Freedom Summer project in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Julian Bond wrote his letter to James Baldwin in 1964 at the age of 24. Less
than three years later he would be awarded his seat in the Georgia House of
Representatives by a unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Four years
after that, in 1971, he would become the founding president of the Southern
Poverty Law Center. Nearly 30 years later, in 1998, he would take the helm of
the NAACP serving as its national chairman for an astonishing 12 years.
Julian Bond has spent his life as a champion in the campaign for equality. Much
of what we as a nation know about compassion and commitment, we have learned
from Julian Bond, the people he emulated and the people he inspired. We are sad
because he has left us. And we are deeply honored that we had him for as long
as we did … to help us help America live up to her promises. We are better
people because he walked among us for a little while.
Thank you, Horace Julian Bond. Thank you for everything!
You earned your crown....Rest in Peace good brother.
If you're a true sports fan as I am...and a basketball fan as I am in particular...You awoke this morning to the news that former New York Knicks power forward, Anthony Mason has passed away..from the effects of a heart attack he suffered a few weeks ago...
I always loved this man's game...Even though he often was bruising my beloved 76ers....He played in a different era...A different time...Back when the Atlantic Division of the NBA was Tough..The Celtics, the 76ers and The New York Knicks were perrenial locks to go to the playoffs and possibly the NBA Finals..
It was bruising , in your face , street playground basketball at best...and nobody personified it more than Anthony "Real Mase" Mason....
Anthony Mason, a bruising power forward who personified the gritty Knicks of the mid-'90s, died early this morning. He was 48.
Anthony Mason had suffered a massive heart attack earlier in the month as I said.
"Mase" played 13 seasons in the NBA with six teams but is best remembered for his days with the New York Knicks. After playing abroad and in both the CBA and USBL, Anthony Mason had brief stints with the Nets(before they were Brooklyn) and Denver before being signed by Pat Riley, who admired his rugged style and his play making ability. Along with Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley, he helped give the Knicks of the early ’90s one of the most physically imposing front lines in NBA history.
"He was as tough as they come,"his friend and former team-mate Charles Oakley told the News.
"First I want to think all those who offered prayers and well-wishes for my Father, our family really appreciates it," his son, Anthony Mason Jr. said in a statement.
“Overnight New York City and the world lost a legend, a friend, a brother... but more than anything our father, Anthony Mason,”AnthonyMason Jr. continued. “As you all would expect our father - Big Mase - put up an incredible fight, dealing with severe heart issues. I'm wishing this was something else I was writing, but Pops we've got to let you know” ‘we love you and know you'll always be with us. ‘” “I ask at this time that you respect our family's privacy with regard to questions as our family takes the time to mourn,” Mason Jr.’s message concluded.
Oh My God...we are losing some legends this year...The Great Soul Singer, Bobby Womack passed away yesterday...
Soul singer Bobby Womack has died, his record company, XL Recordings,
confirmed. The cause of death at the time I am writing this is currently unknown.
The singer's career spanned seven decades and included '80s hit "If You Think
You're Lonely Now."
Womack began his career in the early 1960s as the lead singer of his family
musical group The Valentinos. He was also Sam Cooke's backing guitarist.
In the late-60s, Womack went solo. In 1968, he signed with Minit Records and
recorded his first solo album, "Fly Me To The Moon," which included his first
major hit with a cover of The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'." He
would go on to collaborate with music notables Gábor Szabó, George Benson, Sly
and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin and Pearl.
He would later leave Minit and sign with United Artists where he released the
album, "Communication." He would earn his first Top 40 hit, "That's the Way I
Feel About Cha."
Bobby Womack's biggest commercial success would occur in the 1970s with
back-to-back successful albums.
In the 80s, Bobby Womack's career was complicated by substance abuse. He would have
kicked the problem and saw a resurgence in the 90s. During this time, he worked
with Todd Rundgren and The Roots.
In 2010, Bobby Womack collaborated on the single, "Stylo," alongside Mos Def, from
the third Gorillaz album, "Plastic Beach."
A year earlier, in 2009, Bobby Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
Here...I leave you with one of my favorite Bobby Womack jams..."Nobody wants you, when you're down and out." So true...You were down Bobby, but never out!
I wasn't going to write anything today, but I just got the news that Poet-Civil Rights Activist,Maya Angelou has transitioned out of this life...
I remember reading her book-"I know why the Caged Bird Sings" when I was in the ninth grade....It was one of the books that made me want to express myself through the written word..
Her death comes less than a week after Ms Angelou announced she would not attend the 2014 MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon, where she was to be honored, citing "health reasons." Last month, she also canceled an event in Fayetteville, Arkansas, because she was recovering from an "unexpected ailment" that left her hospitalized.
"The mayor is very saddened to hear the loss of a woman of such renowned phenomenal status as Dr. Angelou. Our prayers are with her family, her staff and all the people she has worked with," Linda Jackson-Barnes, assistant to Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, said.
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, under the name Marguerite Annie Johnson. She grew up to become a singer, dancer, actress, writer and Hollywood's first female black director.
A Rennasaince Woman and one of my heroes...We are losing too many of my heores...and God knows , this generation needs them!
I want to take the time to write a tribute and to honor a man I consider my mentor... If not for this man, I might not have wanted to be a journalist....
Mr. Chuck Stone....If you are African-American and of a certain age and from Philadelphia....You read the Daily News.... Why? The Daily News was smaller and cheaper than the Inquirer and spoke to the poor and the working class in a way the other two papers ,The Bulletin and The Inquirer did not...
If by chance you read the Daily News...You had to have read columns by Mr. Chuck Stone... I consider him the dean of Black journalists...He was in fact the first Black journalist to have a regular column in the Daily News..
I had been reading the Daily News since I was in High School...(It made me feel more like an adult...and I always liked to know things....It made for good conversation...)
After I read the sports column...I had to read his column....He spoke to me and people who looked like me in a way no other columnist did...
Born in St. Louis and raised in Hartford, Chuck trained with the Tuskegee Airmen as a navigator during World War II. Later, he graduated from Wesleyan University and received a Master's from the University of Chicago.
Chuck Stone's first career was in journalism, where he quickly became a leader in African-American media in New York City, Chicago and as a White House correspondent. To support other emerging writers, he helped create the National Association of Black Journalists, serving as the organization's first president.
Chuck Stone next worked as a special assistant to Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, writing about that experience in the bookBlack Political Power in America and the novel King Strut.
Chuck then became the first Director of Minority Affairs at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), where he studied bias in standardized exams. That position, he always said, led to his early involvement with FairTest.
As a member of our board of directors, Chuck was distinguished by a non-confrontational, almost courtly, style which made his often-pointed questions even harder to answer.
After ETS, he returned to journalism as a columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News.
There, he became nationally known for negotiating the safe surrender of crime suspects sought by our city's notoriously brutal police force.
Widely respected by both law enforcement and community residents, Chuck's unique role earned a flattering profile in the Wall Street Journal and two Pulitzer Prize nominations.
After leaving Philadelphia, he held the Walter Spearman Chair in the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
He passed away a few nights ago.... It is still hard to believe .......If Not for him...There would be no Keith's Space...No Field Negro , and few other blogs in which young blacks speak the truth and fight the good fight...
Richard Pierce "Richie" Havens was an American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style, soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. In all of the confusion and foolishness going on in the world...I momentarily forgot to pay homage to this American Treasure...Forgive me!
