The Birmingham Times
As 2024 comes to a close, we take time to remember just a few of the notable Black civic leaders, actors, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs and more lost during the year.
January
19 — Marlena Shaw, 84, legendary jazz and soul singer.
22 — Dexter Scott King, 62, son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
February
1 — Carl Weathers, 76, actor, director, and former gridiron linebacker.
7 — Henry Fambrough, 85, the last surviving original member of the legendary Motown R&B group.
20 — Hydeia Broadbent, 39, HIV/AIDS activist, diagnosed with AIDS at age of 3, one of the initial children to receive treatment for HIV/AIDs lived for more than 30 years
March
4 — Janice Burgess, 72, TV executive and screenwriter who was best known for creating the popular Nickelodeon television show “The Backyardigans.”
12 — Anthony “Baby Gap” Walker, 60, longtime member of the 1970s funk group The Gap Band.
29 — Louis Gossett Jr., 87, the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Officer and Gentleman.
April
10 — DJ Mister Cee, 57, pioneering Hip-Hop DJ and longstanding fixture of NYC rap radio.
10 — O.J. Simpson, 76, former NFL star and Heisman trophy winner.
May
31 — Myrna Carter Jackson, 82, Birmingham civic leader and Foot Soldier who participated in marches, sit-ins, demonstrations and other Civil Rights activities.
31 — Marian Robinson, 86, Michelle Obama’s mother
June
13 – Angela Bofill, 70, R&B balladeer with a silky voice.
18 – Willie Mays, 93, Major League Baseball Great, Fairfield resident.
25 — Bill Cobbs, 90, prolific character actor, perhaps best known for his roles in films like Night at the Museum, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
27 – DJ Polo, 63, half of the influential rap group DJ Polo and Kool G Rap.
July
22 — Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, 74, The U.S. representative for Texas’s 18th congressional district and noted Civil Rights pioneer.
29 — Erica Ash, 46, actress, perhaps best known for her roles in BET’s Real Husbands of Hollywood, STARZ’s Survivors Remorse.
August
6 — Hezekiah Jackson IV, 65, who served as president of the Metro Birmingham NAACP, Birmingham Citizens Advisory Board, and the Inglenook Neighborhood Association.
13 – Wallace (Wally) Amos Jr., 88, founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie.
15 — Beatking , 39, the titan of Houston party hip-hop, real name Justin Riley.
21 — John Amos, 84, star of Good Times, Roots, and more.
31 — Fatman Scoop, 53, legendary New York musician.
September
5 — Rich Homie Quan, 33, the multiplatinum-selling artist from Atlanta.
9 — James Earl Jones, 93, legendary actor who defined an era of film, television, and theater
15 — Michaela DePrince, 29, ballet dancer, became youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
16 — Tito Jackson, 70, original member of the hit-making pop group the Jackson 5.
25 — Cat Glover, 60, whose full name was Catherine Vernice Glover, choreographer, dancer, singer, and rapper.
30 — Dikembe Mutombo, 58, Hall of Fame basketball center.
October
7 — Cissy Houston, 91, renowned soul and gospel singer and mother to Whitney Houston.
November
3 — Quincy Jones, 91, composer and producer who collaborated with Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson.
6 — Tony Todd, 69, actor who played Candyman in the horror films.
9 — Judith Jamison, 81, an internationally acclaimed dancer who later served as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
December
10 – Nikki Giovanni, 81, poet and literary celebrity.
26 — Richard Parsons, 76, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup.
