In Memoriam: The Notable Folks Our Community Lost in 2022

These notables from film and TV, sports, journalism, performance art, activism, fashion, and entrepreneurship may be gone, but they certainly aren’t forgotten.

Uptown In Memoriam Main

Remembering Sidney Poitier, André Leon Talley, Autherine Lucy Foster, DJ Kay Slay, Nichelle Nichols, Irene Cara, Bernard Shaw, Takeoff, Bill Russell, Dorothy Pittman Hughes, Pelé, Coolio, tWitch, and the many other notable folks our community lost in 2022.

Pelé, 82

Soccer legend and three-time World Cup winner

Dec. 29, 2022

Thom Bell, 79

Singer-songwriter, producer, and one of the creators of Philadelphia Soul in the 1970s

Dec. 22, 2022

Franco Harris, 72

NFL Hall of Famer who caught an “Immaculate Reception” and played for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Dec. 20, 2022

Elayne Jones, 94

Percussionist who became the first Black principal in a major American orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, in 1972

Dec. 17, 2022

Stephen LaureltWitchBoss, 40

Hip Hop dancer, choreographer, actor, television producer, and TV personality

Dec. 13, 2022

Paul Silas, 79

NBA champion and coach

Dec. 10, 2022

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, 84

Activist, author, and small business owner who was integral in bringing Black American issues to the feminist movement

Dec. 1, 2022

Irene Cara, 63

FAME and Flashdance singer and actress

Nov. 25, 2022

Fred Hickman, 66

Longtime CNN sports broadcaster

Nov. 9, 2022

Lois Curtis, 55

Artist and advocate whose lawsuit secured disability rights

Nov. 3, 2022

Takeoff, 28

One-third of the rap group Migos

Nov. 1, 2022

Rev. Calvin Butts III, 73

Influential pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem

October 2022

Charles Fuller, 83

Playwright of A Soldier’s Play, which won a Pulitzer Prize

Oct. 3, 2022

Hector Lopez, 93

MLB player who won two World Series with the New York Yankees and the first Black manager in Triple-A history

Sept. 29, 2022

Stephanie Dabney, 64

Prima ballerina of the Dance Theatre of Harlem from 1979 through 1994

Sept. 28, 2022

Coolio, 59

Rapper known for “Gangsta’s Paradise”

Sept. 28, 2022

Pharoah Sanders, 81

Legendary Jazz saxophonist

Sept. 24, 2022

Maury Wills, 89

Professional baseball player and manager, and National League MVP in 1962

Sept. 19, 2022

Ramsey Lewis, 87

Pianist who was the embodiment of a Jazz-Pop crossover

Sept. 12, 2022

Bernard Shaw, 82

CNN’s lead anchor from 1980 to 2001

Sept. 7, 2022

Earnie Shavers, 78

Professional boxer who is known as one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight boxing 

Sept. 1, 2022

Lamont Dozier, 81

Motown hit songwriter

Aug. 8, 2022

Albert Woodfox, 75

Community activist who survived 42 years in solitary confinement in prison

Aug. 4, 2022

Bill Russell, 88

NBA legend and Civil Rights icon

July 31, 2022

Nichelle Nichols, 89

Trailblazing actress who starred in Star Trek as Lt. Uhura

July 30, 2022

Mary Alice, 85

Screen and stage actor who won a Tony Award for Fences

July 27, 2022

LaTisha Chong, 32

World-renowned celebrity hairstylist who counted Tracee Ellis Ross and Serena Williams as clients

July 19, 2022

William Hart, 77

Lead singer of the Delfonics

July 14, 2022

Marlin Briscoe, 76

Pioneering Black quarterback and wide receiver

June 27, 2022

Sam Gilliam, 88

Painter and abstractionist

June 25, 2022

Willie Lee Morrow, 82

Barber, entrepreneur, and inventor who invented the Afro pick and developed the precursor to the Jheri curl

June 22, 2022

Gloria Allen, 76

Transgender activist who worked with trans youth in Chicago and was the focus of the Mama Gloria documentary and inspired the play Charm

June 13, 2022

Marion Sylvester Barber III, 38

Running back for the Dallas Cowboys

June 1, 2022

Lil Keed, 24

Up-and-coming rapper from Atlanta

May 13, 2022

John L. Canley, 84

U.S. Marine and belated Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Battle of Huế in 1968

May 11, 2022

Bob Lanier, 73

Professional basketball player and Hall of Famer

May 10, 2022

DJ Kay Slay, 55

Radio icon and Rap mixtape innovator

April 17, 2022

Rayfield “Big Cat” Wright, 76

Dallas Cowboys lineman and Hall of Fame inductee

April 7, 2022

Tommy Davis, 83

Professional baseball player who was a star batter with the 1960s Dodgers

April 3, 2022

Bunny Diamond, 70

One-third of the Might Diamonds, a Reggae trio

April 1, 2022

Tabby Diamond, 66

Member of the Reggae trio Mighty Diamonds

March 29, 2022

LaShun Pace, 60

Grammy Award–nominated gospel singer–songwriter and evangelist

March 21, 2022

Traci Braxton, 50

Singer and reality TV and radio personality

March 12, 2022

Timmy Thomas, 77

R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist

March 11, 2022

Johnny Grier, 74

NFL’s first Black referee

March 8, 2022

Autherine Lucy Foster, 92

First Black student at the University of Alabama

March 2, 2022

Charley Taylor, 80

NFL Hall of Fame inductee

Feb. 19, 2022

Valerie Boyd, 58

Zora Neale Hurston biographer

Feb. 12, 2022

Cheslie Kryst, 30

TV correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA in 2019

Jan. 30, 2022

Luisa Harris, 66

Professional basketball player who is known as a pioneer of women’s basketball

Jan. 18, 2022

André Leon Talley, 73

Fashion industry force, former editor-at-large of Vogue, stylist, creative director, and journalist

Jan. 18, 2022

Ronnie Spector, 78

Singer who co-founded and fronted The Ronettes

Jan. 12, 2022

Maria Ewing, 71

American opera singer

Jan. 9, 2022

Lani Guinier, 71

Legal scholar, educator, and civil rights theorist

Jan. 7, 2022

Sidney Poitier, 94

Trailblazing actor who was the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor

Jan. 6, 2022