Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24, 1922  – June 12, 1998) was an American stage, film, and television actress and singer. She's known for her role in That's My Mama (1974-1975) and for her film roles in The Wiz (1978) and Billy Madison (1995). New York, New York, Born in Emporia, Virginia, Merritt appeared in many theatrical productions but gained fame later in life when she starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination,[1] and The Wiz, in which she replaced Mabel King as Evelline. She left The Wiz, citing the role's harmful effect on her voice. She then starred in the television sitcom That's My Mama.[ Merritt's other Broadway credits included Mule Bone (1991), Division Street (1980), Don't Play Us Cheap! (1972), The Crucible (1972), Trumpets of the Lord (1969), Golden Boy (1964), Tambourines to Glory (1963), and Carmen Jones (1943, 1945, 1947).She also toured with road companies of Funny Girl, Show B

Filmmaker, author, and actor Melvin Van Peebles was born on August 21, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up during World War II, he spent his adolescence with his father, a tailor. Van Peebles graduated from Township High School in Phoenix, Illinois, in 1949 and spent a year at West Virginia State College before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University where he earned his B.A. degree in English literature in 1953. During the late 1950s, Van Peebles served three and a half years as a flight navigator in the United States Air Force. After the military, he lived briefly in Mexico and San Francisco where he wrote his first book,  The Big Heart , which was about the life of San Francisco’s cable cars and their drivers. Moving to the Netherlands, he studied at the Dutch National Theatre before moving to France in the early 1960s. During this time, Van Peebles wrote several published novels in French, including  La Permission  in 1967. He filmed this story under the title,  The

Born in  Compton, California , his father was a stuntman and a founder of the  Black Stuntmen's Association . Johnson began acting in his early twenties. In 1990 he landed a starring role as E.Z.E. in  House Party , after which he started doing  stand-up  in bars in  Los Angeles . He later appeared in  Lethal Weapon 3  as a drug dealer and in  Menace II Society . His biggest role was in the 1995 comedy  Friday , as Ezal, a crackhead and thief. He has also appeared in  Panther ,  The Players Club ,  B*A*P*S ,  I Got The Hook Up , [ Def Jam's How to Be a Player  and  Repos , and in rap videos: in Dr. Dre's " Dre Day " (1992), he played Sleazy-E, a parody of  Eazy-E , and he appeared again as Sleazy-E in the video for Eazy-E's " Real Muthaphuckkin G's " (1993), this time being assaulted.

Michael Kenneth Williams  (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He played  Omar Little  on the  HBO  drama series  The Wire [1] [2] [3]  and Albert "Chalky" White on the HBO series  Boardwalk Empire . He was also acclaimed for his role as Jack Gee, husband of  Bessie Smith , in the HBO  telefilm   biopic   Bessie . He acted in supporting roles in a number of films and television series, including  The Road ,  Inherent Vice ,  The Night Of ,  Gone Baby Gone ,  12 Years a Slave ,  When We Rise ,  When They See Us , and  Hap and Leonard

Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock  (born October 11, 1992, née Mensah) is an American wrestler who competes in women's  freestyle wrestling . She won the gold medal at the  Tokyo Olympics  on August 3, 2021, and is the first black woman to have done so. [1] [2] [3]

Marcel Theo Hall  (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), [1]  better known by his stage name  Biz Markie , was an American  rapper , singer, DJ, record producer, actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his 1989 single " Just a Friend ", which became a  Top 40  hit in several countries. In 2008, "Just a Friend" made No. 100 on  VH1 's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time. [2]

The 14-year-old eighth-grader from Harvey, Louisiana, correctly spelled "Murraya" — a genus of flowering plants — to clinch victory Thursday night during the bee's live finals at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Suzzanne Douglas  (April 12, 1957 – July 6, 2021) was an American actress. [2]  She is best known for her role as matriarch Jerri Peterson on  The WB  sitcom  The Parent 'Hood , [2]  starring  Robert Townsend  which ran from 1995–1999. Douglas portrayed Amy Simms in the 1989 dance/drama film  Tap  alongside  Gregory Hines  and  Sammy Davis, Jr , for which she received an  NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture . In addition to Tap, Douglas has starred in several other motion pictures, among them  How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998),  Jason's Lyric  (1994),  The Inkwell (1994) as well as the 2003  Disney / ABC version of  Sounder  with  Carl Lumbly . Douglas is also best known for her portrayal as  Cissy Houston  in the  Lifetime  TV movie  Whitney  in 2015. In 2019, she appeared as the mother of one of the main characters in  When They See Us  ( Netflix ), directed by  Ava DuVernay .

Clarence Williams III  (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) [2]  was an American actor, best known for playing the character "Linc Hayes" in the "hippie" cop show  The Mod Squad  from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared prominently in films such as  Purple Rain ,  52 Pick-Up ,  Tales from the Hood ,  Half Baked  and  Reindeer Games , and had a recurring role on Season 2 of  Twin Peaks .

Samuel Edward Wright  (November 20, 1948 – May 24, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He was best known as the voice of  Sebastian  in  Disney 's  The Little Mermaid , for which he provided the lead vocals to " Under the Sea ", [1]  which won the  Academy Award for Best Original Song . He played  Dizzy Gillespie in the  1988 biographical film  about  Charlie Parker . Wright also played the part of  Mufasa in the original cast of  The Lion King  on Broadway and voiced Kron the  Iguanodon  in Disney's 2000  CGI /live-action film  Dinosaur

Chi Modu  (born 1966) is an American documentary photographer of Nigerian descent, renowned for his photographs of hip-hop artists during the 1990’s, the defining years of the hip hop era.His subjects included Biggie, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg,Mobb Deep, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, the Notorious B.I.G. and Wu-Tang Clan.His photos are especially notable for the personal and intimate camera angles of the famous music artists.

Paul Gladney  (August 4, 1941 – May 19, 2021), better known by the stage name  Paul Mooney , was an American comedian, [1]  writer,  social critic , and television and film actor. He is best known as a writer for comedian  Richard Pryor , [1] [2]  playing singer  Sam Cooke in  The Buddy Holly Story  (1978) and Junebug in  Bamboozled  (2000), and his appearances on  Chappelle's Show .

Earl Simmons  (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), [2]  known by his stage name  DMX  ("Dark Man X"), was an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album  It's Dark and Hell Is Hot  in 1998, to both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling 251,000 copies within its first week of release. [4] [5]  He released his best-selling album,  ... And Then There Was X , in 1999, which included the hit single " Party Up (Up in Here) ". His 2003 singles " Where the Hood At? " and " X Gon' Give It to Ya " were also some of his most popular.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler  (born  Marvin Nathaniel Hagler ; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) [2]  was an American  professional boxer and film actor who competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987. He reigned as  undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, [3] making twelve successful defenses of that title, and holds the highest  knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions, at 78 percent, while also holding the  third-longest unified championship reign in boxing history  at twelve consecutive defenses. At six years and seven months, his reign as undisputed middleweight champion is the second-longest of the last century, behind only  Tony Zale , whose reign included several years of inactivity during his service in  World War II . In 1982, annoyed that network announcers often did not refer to him by his nickname "Marvelous", Hagler legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Meet  Maia Chaka , the first Black woman ever named to the NFL's officiating staff. Lorenzo Reyes. 0:00. 1:13.  Maia Chaka  has been a health and physical education teacher, working with students with unique needs at Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach, Va. since 2006.

Leon Spinks  (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American  professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the  undisputed   heavyweight  championship in 1978 after defeating  Muhammad Ali  in a  split decision , in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the  WBC  title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by  unanimous decision .

Deborah Archer has been elected president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), becoming the first  Black  person to lead the organization in its 101-year history. Archer was elected unanimously in a virtual meeting by the organization’s 69-member board of directors, and announced on Feb. 1

Henry Louis Aaron  (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed " Hammer " or " Hammerin' Hank ", was an American professional  baseball   right fielder  who played 23 seasons in  Major League Baseball  (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. He spent 21 seasons with the  Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves  in the  National League  (NL) and two seasons with the  Milwaukee Brewers  in the  American League  (AL).

Cicely Tyson  (December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American  actress  and  fashion model . In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong  African-American women . [3] [4]  Tyson was the recipient of three  Primetime Emmy Awards , four  Black Reel Awards , one  Screen Actors Guild Award , one  Tony Award , an  honorary Academy Award , and a  Peabody Award .