(blackamerica.com) In 2010, black America – and America at large – lost a bevy of the famous and infamous, people like civil rights leaders Benjamin Hooks, political scholar Ron Walters and entertainers like musicians Solomon Burke and the legendary Lena Horne.
Here is BlackAmericaWeb.com’s list of the notable and little noted who died this year.
JANUARY
Eunice Johnson
Died: January 3
The widow of Ebony magazine founder John Johnson and a fashion maven who ran thousands of traveling runway shows aimed at black audiences. Since 1961, Eunice Johnson had been director and producer of the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling high-fashion charity event that showcases black designers and models in nearly 200 cities each year. She died of renal failure in Chicago at age 93.
Marcia Slacum Greene
Died: January 4
A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and editor at The Washington Post editor and reporter who, in 2002, was the first to get an extensive interview with Mildred Muhammad, the ex-wife of D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad. She died of pancreatic cancer in Washington, D.C. at age 57.
Hardy Williams
Died: January 7
He was a legendary force in Philadelphia politics for decades and a Pennsylvania state senator from 1983-1998. He died of Alzheimer’s disease in Philadelphia at age 78.
Willie Mitchell
Died: January 5
A record producer, label head, and musician who worked with Al Green and other stars. Mitchell owned Royal Studio where Buddy Guy, John Mayer, and many others recorded their music. He died more than two weeks after suffering cardiac arrest on Dec. 19, in Memphis, Tennessee at age 81.
James E. Cheek
Died: January 8
President of historically black Howard University in Washington who led the school through 20 years (1969-89) of expansion amid campus unrest and competition from predominantly white institutions. Cheek died of complications from coronary artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Greensboro, North Carolina at age 77.
Art Rust Jr.
Died: January 12
Pioneering figure in New York radio sports talk shows and a sports historian whose books focused on the interplay of race and athletics. In the ‘80s, Rust became a familiar voice with his Sportstalk show on WABC Radio. He died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, in New York City. He was 82.
Haiti Earthquake victims
Died: January 13, 2010
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake on January 13 devastated Haiti and left hundreds of thousands dead, tens of thousands more injured and more than 1 million people homeless. Here is a partial list of some notable Haitians killed in the earthquake or its aftermath:
• Charles Benoit, Haitian Roman Catholic vicar general, earthquake.
• Joubert Charles, 44, Haitian music promoter, earthquake.
• Anne-Marie Coriolan, 53, Haitian women’s rights activist, earthquake.
• Antoine Craan, 78, Haitian-born Canadian footballer, earthquake.
• Magalie Marcelin, Haitian women’s rights activist, earthquake.
• Myriam Merlet, 53, Haitian political activist, earthquake.
• Joseph Serge Miot, 63, Haitian Roman Catholic Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, earthquake.
• Myrna Narcisse, Haitian Director General of the Ministry of Women’s Condition, earthquake.
• Jimmy O, 35, Haitian hip hop musician, earthquake.
• Dewey Tucker, 24, American bassist and smooth jazz performer, shot.
• Yabby You, 63, Jamaican reggae singer and producer, earthquake.
Ed Thigpen
Died: January 13
Jazz drummer often described as “Mr. Taste” for his sensitive accompaniment of instrumentalists and singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell and Billy Taylor. Thigpen, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, was hospitalized before Christmas with heart and lung problems and died in Copenhagen, Denmark at age 79.
Mary Thomas
Died: January 13
Mother of Hall of Fame basketball star and Florida International coach Isiah Thomas. Mary Thomas’s struggle to …..
To see more of the list visit www.blackamericaweb.com
