By Charles Collier Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid” was the most talented player to ever play the game. He died on Tuesday in an assisted living facility in Palo Alto, California. Former President Obama said, “Willie Mays wasn’t just a singular athlete, blessed with an unmatched combination of grace, skill, and power.” He was […]
Jim Brown the NFL’s Most Dominant Player Dies at 87
Jim Brown was worthy of admiration. The great football player, civil rights activist and actor impacted our youth as well as fellow human beings. Jim Nathaniel Brown was born on February 17, 1936, in St. Simmons Ga. He died peacefully, on May 19, 2023. “Jim Brown was a gifted-athlete and one of the most dominant […]
When the Gates Swing Open
By LaKeshia N. Myers A minister once said, “Remember, everyone has two dates on their tombstone, what really counts is what you did with the dash in between. It’s the dash that’s most important.” I have had plenty of time to dwell on the dash this week, as I am mourning the loss of my […]
Legendary Journalist Gail Berkley Dies at 74
She Worked For Black Press For Over 48 Years By Evan Carlton Ward Sun-Reporter This story was originally published by the Sun-Reporter. Gail Cordelia Berkley-Armstrong, legendary awarding-winning Bay Area journalist and Sun-Reporter editor, has died after a lengthy illness. She was 74. The veteran journalist was committed to the mission of the Black Press of […]
John Lewis May Be Gone But, His Legacy Remains
By Ana Martinez-Ortiz When we die, we hope that we’ll be remembered but there are certain people in this world who will never be forgotten, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis was one of them. Lewis passed away last week Friday, July 17. He was 80 years old and had fought a six-month battle with cancer. […]
IN MEMORIAM: Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch: Remembering Carroll Spinney
By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. NNPA Newswire Entertainment and Culture Editor Growing up, Sesame Street was a way of life. Modeled after a brownstone neighborhood in Harlem, it was familiar yet far with a cast of characters who looked and sounded like the melting pot of people growing up in America’s cities at that time. […]
Vel Phillips, Influential Trailblazer and Civil Rights Pioneer, Dies at 94
By Evan Casey and Karen Stokes Velvalea “Vel” Phillips, a Milwaukee legend, an advocate for civil rights who displayed courage under great pressure, died Tuesday. She was 94. Civil rights activist Vel Phillips was the first woman to sit on the Milwaukee Common Council. She was the first woman to serve as a judge in […]
Winnie Mandela Dies at 81
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) South Africa’s “Mother of the Nation” an anti-Apartheid crusader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died, her family confirmed in a statement on Monday, April 2. The ex-wife of the late Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela was 81. In a statement, her family said Mandela “died after a long illness, for which […]
Simeon Booker, an Icon of Black Journalism, Dies at 99
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Simeon Booker, a trailblazing Black journalist, who covered the Civil Rights Movement for the iconic African American magazines EBONY and Jet and who was the first Black person to work as a full-time Washington Post reporter, has died. Booker, who’s credited with playing an integral role in delivering […]
‘A Trusted Comrade,’ Black Press Legend George Curry Dies at 69
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA News Wire Contributor The Black Press lost one of it’s most celebrated warriors when George Curry, veteran journalist and former Editor-In-Chief of the NNPA News Wire, died from an apparent heart attack on Saturday, August 20. Curry was 69. “On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), we are […]