Clint Hill (1932–2025), Secret Service agent at JFK assassination 

Clint Hill was a Secret Service agent under five presidents, best known for jumping onto the presidential car to protect the first lady after President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot in 1963.

Nancy Leftenant-Colon (1920–2025), Army Nurse Corps trailblazer

Nancy Leftenant-Colon was a nurse who broke the color barrier when she became the first Black woman to join the U.S. Army Nurse Corps following its desegregation in the 1940s.

Charles Person (1942–2025), youngest of the Freedom Riders

Charles Person was a civil rights activist best known as the youngest of the original Freedom Riders, a group of activists who challenged illegal, unconstitutional racial segregation that was rampant throughout the American South.

Thelma Mothershed Wair (1940–2024), Little Rock Nine member

Thelma Mothershed Wair was the oldest of the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, prompting one of the most important civil rights clashes in American history. 

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.

Bill Lucy (1933–2024), 1960s labor leader, civil rights activist

Bill Lucy was a labor leader and civil rights activist best known for his work during and after the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. 

Peter Buxtun (1937–2024), Tuskegee syphilis experiment whistleblower 

Peter Buxtun was a United States Public Health Service employee who revealed that the U.S. government had been experimenting on Black men without their knowledge, a “study” which came to be known as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. 

Tessie Prevost Williams (1954–2024), pioneer of early desegregation

Tessie Prevost Williams was a pioneer of early desegregation who was among the first to attend integrated schools in New Orleans.

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. 

Rev. Bill Lawson (1928–2024), civil rights leader who worked with MLK

Rev. William “Bill” Lawson was a Houston civil rights leader who helped peacefully integrate his city and worked alongside

Lou Conter (1921–2024), last USS Arizona survivor

Lou Conter was the last survivor of the bombing of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Dorie Ladner (1942–2024), Freedom Riders civil rights activist 

Dorie Ladner was a civil rights activist whose efforts included being arrested for attempting to have lunch at a segregated Woolworth lunch counter and jailed for picketing in the 1962 Jackson, Mississippi boycotts.

Helen Williams (1935–2023), pioneering model

Helen Williams was one of the first Black models to appear widely in national publications in the U.S.

Hughes Van Ellis (1921–2023), Tulsa Race Massacre survivor

Hughes Van Ellis was one of the last three survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Ellsworth Johnson (1923-2023), 100-year-old WWII special-ops veteran

Ellsworth Johnson was a WWII veteran and the last known surviving member of a secret U.S. military unit that operated in enemy-occupied territory in France and China.

Charles Ogletree (1952–2023), Pres. Obama's Harvard law mentor

Charles Ogletree was an attorney and Harvard law professor who served as a mentor to the Obamas and represented clients such as Anita Hill and Tupac Shakur, as well as advocating for victims of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

Richard O. Simpson (1930–2023), U.S.'s first consumer safety chief

Richard O. Simpson was an American businessman and entrepreneur who became the first chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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. 

Herb Douglas (1922–2023), oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist

Herb Douglas was a track and field star who won a bronze medal in long jump at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

Jean Faut (1925–2023), AAGPBL pitcher with two perfect games

Jean Faut was a star pitcher with the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).

James Abourezk (1931–2023), first Arab American U.S. Senator

James Abourezk was a Democratic politician from South Dakota who became the first Arab American elected to the U.S. Senate.

Daniel Smith (1932–2022), last known living child of an enslaved American

Daniel Smith was believed to have been the last living child of a formerly enslaved American.

Janice Bluestein Longone (1933–2022), America's foremost cookbook expert

Janice Bluestein Longone was an antiquarian bookseller whose collection of tens of thousands of American cookbooks provided an archive of the nation’s culinary history.

John Froines (1939–2022), Chicago Seven trial defendant

John Froines was one of the defendants at the notorious Chicago Seven trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention, as well as a chemist researching toxic substances.

Clifford Alexander Jr. (1933–2022), first Black secretary of the Army

Clifford Alexander Jr. was an advisor to presidents who became the first Black secretary of the Army.

Alexander Jefferson (1921–2022), Tuskegee Airman

Alexander Jefferson was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II.

A Memorial Tribute to U.S. Veterans Who Died in 2021-2022

This Memorial Day, we set out to share the incredible true life stories of the American war vets who died in 2021 and 2022. This eight-minute tribute video is a very special mini-episode of Legacy's "Immortalized" series, honoring the brave men and women who served in World War II, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

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.

Watch Legacy's Heartfelt Tribute to the Celebs Who Died in 2021

We had to say goodbye to so many people in 2021 -- more than usual, both in our communities and in the headlines. In Legacy's memorial video, we pay tribute to the beloved artists, leaders, and other well-known public figures who died in 2021.

Bob Dole (1923–2021), longtime U.S. senator from Kansas

Bob Dole represented Kansas as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1996 and ran for president against Democrat Bill Clinton in 1996.

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.

Bob Moses (1935–2021), civil rights activist

Bob Moses was a civil rights activist known for his work in the South registering Black voters in the 1960s.

Gloria Richardson (1922–2021), civil rights activist

Gloria Richardson was a civil rights activist known for her role in intense protests in early-1960s Cambridge, Maryland.

Henry Parham (1921–2021), soldier with only all-Black unit on D-Day

Henry Parham was at U.S. Army veteran of World War II who was the last known living member of the only all-Black unit to land on the beach at Normandy on D-Day.

Robert Ashby (1926–2021), Tuskegee Airman who was the first Black pilot for Frontier Airlines

Robert Ashby was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II before becoming the first Black pilot hired by Frontier Airlines.

Shelia Washington (1960–2021), museum founder who helped exonerate the Scottsboro Boys

Shelia Washington was instrumental in the exoneration of the Scottsboro Boys, nine young Black men who were wrongfully convicted of raping two white women in a famous 1935 case.

Five People Whose Obituaries Tell Stories of Making Black History

There are so many people of a certain age who are passing away right now at the end of a long life, having lived through the 20th century, who have made Black history in their local communities.

Cicely Tyson (1924–2021), award-winning star of “Sounder,” “The Help”

Cicely Tyson, the award-winning actress whose film, television, and theater roles included “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “Roots,” "King," "Sounder," and “The Help,” died Thursday, her family announced.

Discover the legacies of the Challenger astronauts

On January 28, 1986, Americans turned on their TVs to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger. The shuttle’s flight would turn out to be heartbreakingly brief before tragedy struck. Seventy-three seconds into the Challenger’s flight, the shuttle exploded. All seven astronauts on board were killed.

Richard Hall Jr. (2021), Tuskegee Airman

Richard Hall Jr. was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.

Theodore ‘Ted’ Lumpkin (1919–2020), Tuskegee Airman

Theodore ‘Ted’ Lumpkin was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black pilots and support staff who served with distinction in World War II. He served as an intelligence officer, giving mission briefings to pilots during a combat tour in Italy. He retired from the Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.

Helen Jackson (1919–2020), last known widow of a Civil War veteran

Helen Jackson was the last known surviving widow of a Civil War veteran.

Negro League Stars

We take a look back at the stars of the Negro Leagues and their incredible achievements on and off the baseball diamond.

Charley Pride (1934–2020), country music legend

Charley Pride was the pioneering country music superstar who had 30 number one hits on the country music charts.

Rafer Johnson (1934–2020), Olympic decathlon legend

Rafer Johnson won the decathlon gold medal at the 1960 Olympic games in Rome and was the first Black American to be the flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team.

Frank Macon (1923–2020), Tuskegee Airman

Frank Macon was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black pilots and support staff who served with distinction in World War II.

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.

David Dinkins (1927–2020), NYC’s only Black mayor

David Dinkins was the first and, to date, only Black mayor of New York City.

Edward J. Perkins (1928–2020), first Black U.S. ambassador to South Africa

Edward J. Perkins was a diplomat who became the first Black U.S. ambassador to South Africa.