In Memoriam; Robert Lee Williams II, 1930-2020
Robert Lee Williams II was the founding director of the Black studies program at Washington University in St. Louis. He is credited with creating the term “Ebonics,” a combination of the words ebony and phonics.
In Memoriam: Stanley Lawrence Crouch, 1945-2020
A native of Los Angeles, Crouch joined the English department faculty at Pomona College in 1967 at the age of 22. He went on to become one of the most famous and controversial jazz critics in the nation.
In Memoriam: Russell Boone, 1921-2020
In 1960, Russell Boone was appointed director of university bands at Mississippi Valley State University. During his tenure, the band was the first ensemble from a historically Black college or university to play in the Rose Bowl parade. The band also played in the inaugural parade for President Richard Nixon in 1969.
In Memoriam: Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell, 1968-2020
A native of Jamaica, Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell was an assistant professor of medicine and a leading clinician-educator in the Yale Section of General Internal Medicine and Veterans Administration's Connecticut Healthcare System.
In Memoriam: Gary Lynn Harris, 1953-2020
Gary L. Harris was professor of electrical engineering, former dean of the Graduate School and associate provost for research at Howard University. He was one of the first two African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Cornell University.
In Memoriam: Walter Edward Williams, 1936-2020
Walter E. Williams was the conservative economist, syndicated newspaper columnist, and long-time professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He died on December 2, shortly after teaching his last class.
In Memoriam: Alphonso Walter Grant, 1970-2020
Dr. Grant joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 2017 as a visiting professor of art education. He also was affiliated with the African and African American studies, political science, and gender studies programs at the university.
In Memoriam: Walter Harris Jr., 1947-2020
In 2003, Dr. Harris came to Loyola as provost and vice president for academic affairs and served in that capacity through 2008. He was provost at Loyola when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and helped students relocate to universities across the country.
In Memoriam: James Carmichael Renick, 1948-2021
During a long career as a faculty member and administrator in higher education, Dr. Renick served as chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn and was provost at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
In Memoriam: Miriam DeCosta-Willis, 1934-2021
Nearly, a decade after she was not allowed to enroll at what is now the University of Memphis because of the color of her skin, Dr. Decosta-Wilis was hired as the university's first Black faculty member. She also taught at Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Howard University in Washington, D.C., George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
In Memoriam: Reginald Wilson, 1927-2020
Dr. Wilson taught and was director of the Upward Bound program at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, founded and directed the Black studies program at the University of Detroit Mercy, and was president of Wayne County Community College for 10 years.
In Memoriam: James Lee Conyers Jr., 1961-2021
Dr. Conyers, who began his career teaching at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, joined the faculty at the University of Houston in 2002. He has been credited with shaping and transforming the University of Houston’s African American studies program.
In Memoriam: Edward W. Crosby, 1932-2021
Dr. Crosby joined the faculty at Kent State University in 1969. There he founded the Institute for African American Affairs, which later became the department of Pan-African studies. He led the Black studies programs at the university for a quarter century.
In Memoriam: Carolyn Grubb Williams, 1940-2021
Dr. Williams was named president of Bronx Community College in 1996. She was the first woman to hold the position. She served in that role for 15 years.
In Memoriam: Esther Arvilla Harrison Hopkins, 1926-2021
Esther A. H. Hopkins was a biophysicist, chemist, educator, and environmental attorney. She taught for several years at what is now Virginia State University before embarking on a career as a research scientist.
In Memoriam: Albert James Williams-Myers, 1939-2021
A.J. William-Myers, professor emerita of African American studies at the State University of New York-New Paltz, died at his home in New Paltz on July 12. He was 82 years old.
In Memoriam: Henry Givens Jr. 1931-2021
Dr. Givens served as president of Harris Stowe for 32 years until his retirement in 2011. Under his leadership, the university tripled its student population, grew from one building with only one degree to eight facilities and 14-degree programs.
In Memoriam: Charles Wade Mills, 1951-2021
Since 2016, Charles W. Mills was the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Earlier, he served as the John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
In Memoriam: Robert Lewis Albright, 1944-2021
Robert L. Albright served as the eleventh president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1983-1994.
In Memoriam: Millie Louise Bown Russell, 1926-2021
The granddaughter of enslaved African Americans, Dr. Russell was the first Black student to enroll in the medical technology program at Seattle University. She earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the university in 1948 and later had a long career as an administrator and lecturer at the University of Washington.
In Memoriam: Shirley Ann Mathis McBay, 1935-2021
After attending segregated public schools, Dr. McBay enrolled in college at the age of 15. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Georgia. Dr. McBay had a long career in academia at Spelman College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In Memoriam: Rayford Lee Harris Sr., 1924-2022
Harris taught industrial arts in the Richmond public school system, before joining the faculty at Virginia State in 1959. At Virginia State, he directed the industrial arts and technical education teacher training program. For 32 years, he prepared school teachers in woodworking, metalworking, and other industrial arts.
In Memoriam: Paul Carter Harrison, 1936-2021
Professor Harrison taught theater at Howard University, California State University Sacramento, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and finally Columbia College in Chicago where he taught for more than a quarter century until his retirement in 2002.
In Memoriam: Autherine Juanita Lucy Foster, 1929-2022
In 1956, Autherine Lucy enrolled in a graduate program in education at the University of Alabama. She was the university's first Black student. Angry protests by White students ensued. She was suspended three days later “for her own safety” and she was later expelled.
In Memoriam: Doris Adelaide Derby, 1939-2022
Dr. Derby, a noted photographer of the civil rights era, went on to teach African-American studies and anthropology at the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
In Memoriam: Delores Ann Richburg Greene, 1935-2022
A long-time educator in several public school systems in Virginia, Dr. Green concluded her career serving as dean at both Virginia Union University and Virginia State University.
In Memoriam: Charles Lyman James, 1934-2022
Professor James joined the faculty at Swarthmore College in 1973 and remained on the faculty there for 32 tears. His research focused on the writings of Harlem Renaissance author Arna Bontemps.
In Memoriam: Arthuryne J. Welch-Taylor, 1917-2022
Arthuryne Welch-Taylor taught at Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University in Texas, and what is now the University of the District of Columbia.
In Memoriam: Donald M. Henderson, 1931-2022
Donald Henderson served as provost at the University of Pittsburgh from 1989 to 1993. He is the only African American to serve in the position
In Memoriam: Barbara Brown Simmons, 1947-2022
Barbara Brown Simmons was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of New Mexico School of Law and the first Black woman admitted to the New Mexico State Bar.
In Memoriam: Marie Valentine McDemmond, 1946-2022
Marie McDemmond was the first woman to lead Norfolk State University and the first African-American woman to serve as president of a four-year college in Virginia.
In Memoriam: Carey Harvey Latimore IV, 1975-2022
Carey Latimore was a Baptist minister and an associate professor of history at Trinity University in San Antonio. Dr. Latimore joined the Trinity University community in 2004. He served as the chair of the department of history from 2011-2020 and was the co-director for the African American studies minor.
In Memoriam: Reaner Shannon, 1936-2022
Dr. Shannon began her career at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine as the main research lab technologist. In 1990, she left the lab to become director of the minority affairs office at the school, becoming the school’s first associate dean for minority affairs in 1998, a post she held until she retired in 2008.
In Memoriam: James E. Turner, 1940-2022
Professor Turner served as director of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University from 1969 to 1986 and returned for a five-year term from 1996 to 2001.
In Memoriam: Dorothy Louise Christel White Smith, 1939-2202
Dr. Smith taught at Long Beach City College, Grossmont Community College, San Diego City College, and San Diego State University. Dr. Smith also was appointed, then elected, to the Board of Education in 1981, becoming the first Black woman ever to be elected to public office in San Diego.
In Memoriam: Lawrence Arnette Davis, Jr., 1937-2022
At the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Dr. Davis served as an assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, chair of the department of mathematics and physics, dean of Arts and Sciences, and dean of Liberal and Fine Arts. He was named chancellor of the university in 1991 and served in that role for 21 years.
