In Memoriam Archives

Vernon Jordan, civil rights leader and close ally of Bill Clinton, dies

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021

By Jamie Gangel and Dan Merica, CNN Vernon Jordan, a civil rights leader and close adviser to former President Bill Clinton, died Monday evening, multiple sources close to the family tell CNN. He was 85. A cause of death was not immediately released. The former president of the National Urban League rose to prominence as a civil rights activist with close connections in all corners of American politics, though he was closest with Democrats, including presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama. He also worked with Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Jordan, born on

Mary Wilson, a founding member of ‘The Supremes,’ has died

February 9, 2021

In Memoriam

By Joe Sutton and Hollie Silverman, CNN Mary Wilson, a founding member of “The Supremes” has died at the age of 76, her publicist told CNN. Wilson “passed away suddenly this evening,” according to a statement from her longtime friend and publicist, Jay Schwartz. The singer was at her home in Henderson, Nevada. She is survived by her daughter, son, several grandchildren, a sister and brother. Services will be private due to Covid-19 restrictions and a celebration of Wilson’s life will take place later this year, her publicist said. Breaking barriers Wilson was a “trendsetter who broke down

Dianne Durham, the first Black national champion of US gymnastics, dies at 52

February 6, 2021February 6, 2021

In Memoriam/Sports

By Scottie Andrew and Chris Boyette, CNN At just 14 years old, Dianne Durham stood before thousands of spectators on the biggest stage in American gymnastics. She’d just hurt her foot in an earlier, near-perfect balance beam routine — but she wasn’t thinking about the pain, she told a CBS reporter. She’d been “having too much fun to let it bother” her, she said. She didn’t let the pressure of being one of the only Black competitors at the 1983 Gymnastics Championships of the USA bother her either — she was poised to become its first Black champion. Dressed in

Saint Augustine’s University mourns sudden passing of President Irving McPhail

October 16, 2020October 19, 2020

Breaking News/In Memoriam

The president of a historically Black college in Raleigh has died three months after starting his tenure, the school said. Saint Augustine’s University announced Irving Pressley McPhail’s death Thursday night in a post on their Facebook page. A cause of death was not released. “In the short time he was the university’s chief executive officer, he made a memorable and positive impact in moving the University in the direction of being a ‘Learning Centered’ campus,” the post said. Members of the community marched silently by the President’s residence to lay flowers on the porch, according to another post on the school’s