In Memoriam: Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr., 1934-2012
He taught in the department of theater at Howard University since 1991 and chaired the department for six years.
In Memoriam: Aaronette M. White, 1961-2012
She was an associate professor of psychology and associate dean of equity and social responsibility in the Division of Social Sciences of the University of California at Santa Cruz.
In Memoriam: Roy Simon Bryce-Laporte, 1933-2012
A longtime member of the faculty at Colgate University, he was the first director of the African American studies program at Yale University.
In Memoriam: Thelma McWilliams Glass, 1916-2012
A longtime professor of geography at Alabama State University, she was the last surviving member of the the Women's Political Council, which organized the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56.
In Memoriam: Michel-Rolph Trouillot, 1949-2012
He was a a professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago. He published his first book on the Haitian revolution while he was an undergraduate student at CUNY.
In Memoriam: William James Raspberry, 1935-2012
From 1995 to 2008, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist served as the Knight Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism at Duke. He commuted from Washington to Durham each week when classes were in session.
In Memoriam: Leontine T.C. Kelly, 1920-2012
An educator and social activist, she was the first Black woman bishop in a mainstream Christian denomination.
In Memoriam: John W. Porter, 1931-2012
In 1979 he was selected as the 17th president of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti and served in that post for a decade.
In Memoriam: Yvonne Bond Miller, 1934-2012
A professor emerita of childhood education at Norfolk State University, she was the first Black woman elected to both houses of the Virginia legislature.
In Memoriam: H. Douglas Covington, 1935-2012
He was president of three HBCUs before becoming the first African American to lead a predominantly white, state-operated university in Virginia.
In Memoriam: Freddye T. Davy, 1933-2012
She was director of the Honors College at Hampton University. This spring the college was renamed in her honor.
In Memoriam: Marion Henry, 1927-2012
Professor Henry had served on the faculty at Prairie View A&M University for 56 years.
In Memoriam: Wesley Anthony Brown (1927-2012)
In 1949 Brown became the first African American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
In Memoriam: Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach (1922-2012)
A giant in the battle for civil rights in this country, as deputy attorney general during the Kennedy administration he confronted Alabama Governor George Wallace in the schoolhouse door.
In Memoriam: Frank Toby Martin (1951-2012)
He had served as an associate professor of art at Spelman College since 1987.
In Memoriam: Zeb Ferdinand Poindexter Jr. (1929-2012)
He was the first African American graduate and the first African American faculty member at the University of Texas Dental Branch.
In Memoriam: Bertha D. Minus
Since 2009, she served as vice president for academic affairs at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida.
In Memoriam: LeRoy Tashreau Walker (1918-2012)
Chancellor emeritus at North Carolina Central University, he was the first African American president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
In Memoriam: Ernest D. Brown Jr. (1947-2012)
The longtime Williams College professor founded the college's Kusika African Dance and Drumming Ensemble and the Zambezi Marimba Band.
In Memoriam: Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012)
The granddaughter of slaves, she taught at Dillard University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
In Memoriam: John T. McCartney (1938-2012)
He was a longtime professor of government and law and former chair of the Africana studies program at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
In Memoriam: John A. Payton (1946-2012)
Upon hearing of Payton’s death, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous stated, “John Payton was one of the greatest civil rights lawyers our nation has ever had and our world has ever known.”
In Memoriam: Norris Stevenson (1939-2012)
He was the first Black player to receive at football scholarship at the University of Missouri. He coached track at the college level for 30 years.
In Memoriam: LaMont Fernal Toliver (1963-2012)
He was the director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and assistant dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
In Memoriam: Marcellus Brooks (1941-2012)
Brooks spent his entire professional career at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
In Memoriam: Willie M. Burnett (1941-2012)
His career at the Tuskegee University Office of Alumni Affairs spanned more than 40 years.
In Memoriam: Robert Belton (1935-2012)
He was the first tenured African American professor at Vanderbilt Law School.
In Memoriam: Mable Parker McLean (1922-2012)
She was the first woman president of Barber-Scotia College, a historically Black educational institution in Concord, North Carolina.
In Memoriam: Cleveland Donald Jr. (1946-2012)
A longtime educator, he was the second African American graduate of the University of Mississippi.
In Memoriam: Thomas C. Cox (1939-2011)
A history scholar, he taught at the University of Southern California from 1982 to 2008.
In Memoriam: Roger Salters (1939-2012)
He had taught engineering at the University of Denver since 1987.
In Memoriam: Lawrence Mozell Clark Sr. (1934-2012)
He was a longtime professor and administrator at North Carolina State University.
In Memoriam: Camilla Ella Williams (1919-2012)
She was professor emerita at Indiana University and the first Black woman to perform for a major U.S. opera company.
In Memoriam: Stewart B. Fulbright (1919-2012)
He was the first dean of the School of Business at North Carolina Central University in Durham.
In Memoriam: Robert Lee Carter (1917-2012)
Carter argued 22 cases before the Supreme Court. He won 21 times.
In Memoriam: Ernest L. Holloway (1930-2011)
He served as president of Langston University in Oklahoma for a quarter-century.
