Alabama

Doug Kiker (2025), American Idol contestant

Doug Kiker was a contestant on season 18 of “American Idol,” remembered for performing with Rascal Flatts in the season finale.

Bobby Allison (1937–2024), NASCAR Hall of Fame driver

Bobby Allison was a NASCAR Hall of Fame racecar driver whose triumphs include 85 Winston Cup victories and three Daytona 500 wins over the course of his decades-long career.

Lilly Ledbetter (1938–2024), activist who fought for equal pay

Lilly Ledbetter was a Goodyear area manager turnedactivist whose Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. lawsuit resulted in landmark equal pay legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Otis Davis (1932–2024), two-time gold medal-winning runner

Otis Davis was a track and field athlete who won two Olympic gold medals for the United States in the 1960 Rome games.

Sandy Posey (1944–2024), Born a Woman singer

Sandy Posey was a singer known for 1960s hits like “Born a Woman” and “Single Girl.” 

Rusty Golden (1959–2024), country and gospel singer and songwriter

Rusty Golden was a country and gospel singer-songwriter and also the son of The Oak Ridge Boys‘ William Lee Golden.

Romay Johnson Davis (1919–2024), WWII Women’s Army Corps vet

Romay Johnson Davis was a World War II veteran and a member of the first all-female, all-Black Army Corps unit deployed overseas during the conflict. 

Terry Everett (1937–2024), U.S. Rep. from Alabama

Terry Everett was a Republican who represented southeast Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2009.

Naomi Barber King (1931–2024), civil rights activist 

Naomi Barber King was a civil rights activist who married Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King (1930–1969), brother of Rev. .

Jimmy Van Eaton (1937–2024), drummer for Jerry Lee Lewis and others

Jimmy Van Eaton was a drummer in the early days of rock ‘n roll, recording with the likes of , , and others at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

Richard Caster (1948–2024), three-time Pro Bowl NY Jets receiver 

Richard Caster was a 13-year NFL veteran who went to three Pro Bowls as a New York Jet.

Terry Beasley (1950–2024), record-setting Auburn receiver

Terry Beasley was a record-setting receiver for the Auburn Tigers, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee, and a former San Francisco 49er.

Kyle LeDuc (1981–2023), off-road racing champion

Kyle LeDuc was a second-generation off-road racer with seven Pro 4 Championship Off-Road wins whose 30 years in racing netted over 100 wins throughout his career. 

Catherine Burks-Brooks (1939–2023), Freedom Rider 

Catherine Burks-Brooks was a civil rights activist who joined the Freedom Riders as they campaigned for anti-segregation laws to be enforced in the South. 

Harvey Glance (1957–2023), Olympic track and field champion 

Harvey Glance was a track star who won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics.

George Evans (1944–2023), former mayor of Selma, Alabama

George Evans was an elected official in Selma, Alabama, who was the city’s first Black city council president, first Black school board superintendent in Dallas County, and was a two-time mayor of Selma. 

Mississippi Tornado (2023)

At least 21 people died in Mississippi in an unusually long-lasting tornado that touched down on Friday night, March 24, 2023. Another person died in Alabama storms that same night.

Dean Daughtry (1946–2023), Atlanta Rhythm Section co-founder

Dean Daughtry was the keyboardist and a founding member of the southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section.

C.J. Harris (1991–2023), “American Idol” contestant

C.J. Harris was a singer who placed sixth in the 2014 13th season of “American Idol.”

Jeff Cook (1949–2022), guitarist and fiddler for Alabama

Jeff Cook was a co-founder of the wildly popular country band Alabama, playing guitar, fiddle, and keyboards as well as singing backing vocals.

Ray Scott (1933–2022), professional bass fishing legend 

Ray Scott was the “father of modern bass fishing” who created the first national professional bass fishing circuit.

Autherine Lucy Foster (1929–2022), first Black student at the University of Alabama

Autherine Lucy Foster was an icon of the civil rights movement as the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama.

Maxine McNair (2022), last surviving parent of a 1963 Birmingham bombing victim

Maxine McNair was a teacher whose daughter, Denise McNair, was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hurricane Ida Victims (2021)

At least 34 people have died as a result of Hurricane Ida.

Lucille Times (1921-2021), civil rights activist who fought Rosa Parks's bus driver

Lucille Times was a civil rights activist in Montgomery, Alabama, who started a one-woman bus boycott in 1955 shortly before Martin Luther King Jr. took the boycott citywide to protest Montgomery's discrimination against Black Americans.

Roger Hawkins (1945–2021), Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section drummer for Aretha Franklin

Roger Hawkins was a drummer with the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who played on hits including “Respect.”

Rebecca Luker (1961–2020), Broadway star

Rebecca Luker was a Tony-nominated Broadway star known for her roles in productions including the 1994 revival of “Showboat” and the 2000 revival of “The Music Man.”

Bruce Boynton (2020), civil rights activist who inspired Freedom Rides

Bruce Boynton was a civil rights activist whose 1960 landmark Supreme Court case inspired the iconic Freedom Rides.

Robert Graetz (1928–2020), minister who helped organize Montgomery bus boycott

Rev. Robert Graetz was a Lutheran minister and civil rights activist who was among the residents of Montgomery, Alabama who organized a historic bus boycott.

Winston Groom (1943–2020), ‘Forrest Gump’ author

Winston Groom was an author best known for his novel ‘Forrest Gump’ which was0aadaptedainto a popular movie starring Tom Hanks.aa

Pat Dye (1939–2020), legendary Auburn football coach

Pat Dye was the legendary head football coach at Auburnfrom 1981 until 1992 who led the Tigers to four SEC Championshipwins.

Rev. Joseph Lowery (1921–2020), civil rights leader & MLK colleague

Rev. Joseph Lowery was a leader of the American civil rights movement who cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) along with . He also helped organize the pivotal Montgomery bus boycott.

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was one of the greatest track stars—and one of the most beloved Olympians—of all time. In a year when hate threatened to overshadow the Olympic Games being held in Nazi Germany, Owens delighted the free world by winning four gold medals and destroying Adolf Hitler's notion that his Aryan athletes were superior to black competitors. The photos taken of Owens at those 1936 games, and in the years before and after, depict an amazing athlete who has inspired generations of people of all races. In honor of Owens, we present a photo celebration of his life and legacy.

Pat Sullivan (1950–2019), Auburn college football legend

Auburn quarterback won the Heisman Trophy in 1971.

Azellia White (1913–2019), pioneering Black female pilot

Pilot Azellia White (1913–2019)helped pave the way for black women in aviation. White trained in Tuskegee where her husband was stationed during World War II as a mechanic with the famed Tuskegee Airmen. She received her pilotfs license on March 26, 1946.

Juanita Abernathy (1931–2019), civil rights leader

Juanita Abernathy was one of the last remaining civil rights leaders who were there at the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Bart Starr (1934–2019), legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback

Led the Packers dynasty to victory in the first two Super Bowls.

Chris McNair (1926–2019), father of 1963 Birmingham bombing victim

Chris McNair was the father of Denise McNair, one of the four young girls killed when KKK members bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. McNair, a photographer, went on to serve in the Alabama House of Representatives, elected in 1973 as one of the state's first African-American congressmen since Reconstruction. He later served on the Jefferson County Commission. In 2006, he was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy and served two years in prison. He was released just before the 50th anniversary of the church bombing.

Owen Garriott (1930–2019), Skylab and space shuttle astronaut

NASA astronaut Owen Garriott spent a total of 70 days in space.

Andre Williams (1936–2019), R&B singer known as the "Godfather of Rap"

Andre Williams was an R&B singer who had hits in the 1950s with "Bacon Fat" and the too-raunchy-for-radio "Jail Bait." Known as the "Godfather of Rap" for the spoken-sung style he adopted when he wanted to be a recording star but knew he couldn't sing well enough, Williams recorded with labels including Detroit-based Fortune Records and Chicago's Chess Records. His most enduring composition is "Shake a Tail Feather," which became an R&B standard after he co-wrote it, recorded first by the Five Dutones and more famously by Ike and Tina Turner as well as by for the 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers." He wrote songs for , and produced for musicians including Ike Turner and , but he also continued recording and performing his own music all his life, including his 2017 album "Don't Ever Give Up."

Alabama Tornado Victims (2019)

At least 23 people are confirmed dead after powerful tornadoes moved through Southeast Alabama on Sunday afternoon. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones confirmed the fatalities and said there are a number of people missing. Agencies from Alabama and Georgia are working on the search and recovery effort. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said on Twitter, “Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today.” “Praying for their families & everyone whose homes or businesses were affected.”

Bill Jenkins (1945–2019), tried to end Tuskegee syphilis experiment

Bill Jenkins was an epidemiologist and government whistleblower who tried to bring an end to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment by exposing it as racist and unethical. The study began in 1932 when 600 black men, 399 of whom had syphilis, were recruited for a study in exchange for free health care. The study quietly continued for four decades, during which time the men were denied emerging treatments for syphilis and allowed to pass the disease along to their wives and children. When Jenkins joined the Public Health Service in 1967, he learned about the still-ongoing experiment and began working to bring it to the public's attention so it could be stopped. After others got involved in whistleblowing the study's poor methods, a governmental hearing deemed the study problematic and it came to an end in 1972. A subsequent lawsuit brought monetary compensation to the remaining subjects and their survivors, and years later, Jenkins led the effort to get an official apology from President Bill Clinton to the victims of the experiment and their families.

Ray Sawyer (1937–2018), Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show singer

Ray Sawyer (1937–2018) was a vocalist with 1970s hit-makers Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. The band was known for their song “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” which was written by Shel Silverstein. Other hits by the band were “Only Sixteen” and “When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman.”

Clarence Fountain (2018), founding member of Blind Boys of Alabama

The esteemed gospel group won four Grammy Awards.

Eddy Clearwater (1935–2018), Chicago bluesman known as “The Chief”

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago bluesman Eddy Clearwater, lauded for his guitar playing and flamboyant showmanship, has died of heart failure.

John “Jab’o” Starks (1938–2018), drummer with James Brown’s funk band

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — John "Jab'o" Starks, one of the drummers who gave funk singer his driving beat, has died in his native Alabama.

Frederick D. Reese (1929–2018), civil rights activist led Selma’s “Courageous Eight”

Frederick D. Reese, early civil rights activist and leader of Selma’s “Courageous Eight,” died Thursday, April 5, 2018, according to the Associated Press. He was 88.

Oscar Gamble (1949–2018), baseball slugger hit 200 home runs

The baseball slugger was known for his big hair and big swing.

Rick Hall (1932–2018), music producer behind “Muscle Shoals sound”

Alabama record producer Rick Hall recorded some of the biggest musical acts of the 1960s and '70s and helped develop the fabled "Muscle Shoals sound."