Remembering Gangsta Boo, Trugoy the Dove, Lance Reddick, Harry Belafonte, Tina Turner, Irish Grinstead, Richard Roundtree, Andre Braugher, and other notable people our community lost in 2023.
Gangsta Boo
Hip-Hop pioneer and member of Three 6 Mafia
Jan. 1, 2023
Fred White
Earth, Wind & Fire drummer
Jan. 1, 2023
Arthur Duncan
American tap dancer known as the “Entertainer’s Entertainer”
Jan. 4, 2023
Gordy Harmon
Founding member of The Whispers
Jan. 5, 2023
Charles White
Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player
Jan. 11, 2023
CJ Harris
American Idol finalist and musician
Jan. 20, 2023
Brandon Smiley (right)
Son of entertainer Rickey Smiley (left)
Jan. 29, 2023
Barrett Strong Jr.
Motown Records’ first hit-making singer-songwriter
Jan. 28, 2023
Trugoy the Dove
Hip-Hop pioneer and one-third of De La Soul
Feb. 12, 2023
Wayne Shorter
Saxophonist and composer
March 2, 2023
Lance Reddick
Actor known for The Wire, John Wick, and much more
March 17, 2023
Willis Reed
New York Knicks basketball player
March 21, 2023
Howell Wayans
Patriarch of the Wayans family
April 1, 2023
Ahmad Jamal
Innovative pianist, composer, and arranger
April 16, 2023
Otis Redding III
Musician and son of late singer Otis Redding
April 18, 2023
Harry Belafonte
Actor, musician, and activist
April 25, 2023
Larry “Gator” Rivers
Harlem Globetrotters player
April 29, 2023
Bill Perkins
Harlem politician and advocate
May 16, 2023
Jim Brown
NFL Cleveland Browns player and actor
May 18, 2023
Tina Turner
Icon and entertainer
May 24, 2023
Bill Lee
Musician and Spike Lee’s father
May 24, 2023
John Beasley
Actor
May 30, 2023
Clark Haggans
NFL linebacker
June 19, 2023
Dr. Mutulu Shakur
Black liberation activist and stepfather of Tupac Shakur
July 6, 2023
William Dilday Jr.
Founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and first Black TV station manager
July 27, 2023
Sheila Oliver
Former New Jersey Lt. Governor
Aug. 1, 2023
DJ Casper
Songwriter known for “Cha Cha Slide”
Aug. 7, 2023
Gus Solomons Jr.
Dancer and choreographer
Aug. 11, 2023
Melvin “Magoo” Barcliff
Rapper who collaborated with Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams, and Aaliyah
Aug. 13, 2023
Clarence Avant
Music executive and film producer known as the “Black Godfather of Entertainment”
Aug. 13, 2023
Chico Del Vec
Rapper of Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Aug. 14, 2023
Ron Cephas Jones
Actor who won a Screen Actors Guild Award for This Is Us
Aug. 18, 2023
Bill Pinkney
First Black American to sail around the globe solo via the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn
Aug. 31, 2023
Ruschell Boone
Reporter and journalist based in New York City
Sept. 3, 2023
Mike Williams
Former NFL wide receiver
Sept. 12, 2023
Irish Grinstead
Singer and member of girl group 702
Sept. 16, 2023
Hughes Van Ellis
Tulsa Race Massacre survivor
Oct. 9, 2023
Gail O’Neill
Fashion model turned television journalist
Oct. 10, 2023
Louise Meriweather
Novelist, journalist, and activist
Oct. 10, 2023
Rudolph Isley
Singer-songwriter and founding member of The Isley Brothers
Oct. 11, 2023
DJ Mark the 45 King
Hip-Hop producer
Oct. 19, 2023
Tasha Butts
Basketball player and WNBA head coach
Oct. 23, 2023
Richard Roundtree
Actor whose signature role was John Shaft in the Shaft film series
Oct. 24, 2023
Bertie Bowman
Longest serving Black congressional staffer
Oct. 25, 2023
Aaron Spears
Grammy-nominated drummer who worked with Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber
Oct. 30, 2023
Walter Davis
Basketball player and six-time NBA All-Star
Nov. 6, 2023
Arnez “C-Knight” Blount
Rapper and member of Dove Shack
Nov. 8, 2023
D.J. Hayden
Former NFL player
Nov. 11, 2023
George “Funky” Brown
Drummer and founding member of Kool and the Gang
Nov. 16, 2023
Bishop Carlton Pearson
Minister and Gospel musician
Nov. 19, 2023
Jean Knight
Jazz and Soul singer who was known for “Mr. Big Stuff”
Nov. 22, 2023
Ellen Holly
First Black soap opera star
Dec. 6, 2023
Andre Braugher
Award-winning actor known for roles in Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Dec. 11, 2023
George McGinnis
Three-time NBA All-Star
Dec. 14, 2023
Amp Fiddler
Singer and keyboardist who worked with Parliament-Funkadelic
Dec. 17, 2023
Bobby Rivers
TV personality, film critic, and journalist
Dec. 26, 2023
Maurice Hines
Actor, director, singer, and choreographer
Dec. 29, 2023
