Those We Lost: Pioneers, Journalists and Leaders

Bernie Boston - Bernie Boston was a noted news photographer and four-term president of the White House News Photographers Association who worked for the Los Angeles Times. He died from Amyloidosis, a rare blood disease he's had since 2006. He was 74.

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Bernie Boston - Bernie Boston was a noted news photographer and four-term president of the White House News Photographers Association who worked for the Los Angeles Times. He died from Amyloidosis, a rare blood disease he's had since 2006. He was 74.

Ronald D. Brown - Ronald D. Brown, the president and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group who broadened the company's focus from insurance to financial services, died after complications from surgery. He was 55.

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Ronald D. Brown - Ronald D. Brown, the president and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group who broadened the company's focus from insurance to financial services, died after complications from surgery. He was 55.

Charles "Chuck" Dryden - Lt. Col. Charles "Chuck" Dryden, one of the last surviving World War II pioneering Black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, died of natural causes. He was 87.

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Charles "Chuck" Dryden - Lt. Col. Charles "Chuck" Dryden, one of the last surviving World War II pioneering Black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, died of natural causes. He was 87.

Arbella Perkins Ewings - Arbella Perkins Ewings, who was the oldest person in Texas, died at the age of 114.

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Arbella Perkins Ewings - Arbella Perkins Ewings, who was the oldest person in Texas, died at the age of 114.

Bernardin Gantin - Bernardin Gantin, archbishop of Contonou in Benin, who worked closely with with Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope Benedict XVI, died after complications of dehydration. Gantin, whose influence in the Catholic Church was felt in Europe as well as west Africa, was 86.

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Bernardin Gantin - Bernardin Gantin, archbishop of Contonou in Benin, who worked closely with with Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope Benedict XVI, died after complications of dehydration. Gantin, whose influence in the Catholic Church was felt in Europe as well as west Africa, was 86.

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Grace L. Hewell - Grace L. Hewell, a retired social worker and federal education specialist, who was appointed program coordinator in the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare during the Kennedy-Johnson administrations, died of congestive heart failure. She was 89.

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Grace L. Hewell - Grace L. Hewell, a retired social worker and federal education specialist, who was appointed program coordinator in the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare during the Kennedy-Johnson administrations, died of congestive heart failure. She was 89.

R.C. Hickman - R.C. Hickman, a noted Dallas photographer who documented the Civil Rights Movement and whose work appeared in Ebony and JET magazines died at his home in Dallas. He was 89.

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R.C. Hickman - R.C. Hickman, a noted Dallas photographer who documented the Civil Rights Movement and whose work appeared in Ebony and JET magazines died at his home in Dallas. He was 89.

Luther P. Jackson Jr. - Luther P. Jackson Jr., who in the early '60s was among the few Black reporters at The Washington Post and in 1968 became the first Black faculty member at Columbia University's journalism school, died from Parkinson's disease. He was 83.

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Luther P. Jackson Jr. - Luther P. Jackson Jr., who in the early '60s was among the few Black reporters at The Washington Post and in 1968 became the first Black faculty member at Columbia University's journalism school, died from Parkinson's disease. He was 83.

Z. Mae Jimison - Z. Mae Jimison, the first Black woman to serve as a judge on the Marion County, Ind., Superior of Court, died of natural causes. She was 64.

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Z. Mae Jimison - Z. Mae Jimison, the first Black woman to serve as a judge on the Marion County, Ind., Superior of Court, died of natural causes. She was 64.

Thomas A. Johnson - Thomas A. Johnson, the first Black reporter at Newsday and later, at The New York Times, one of the first Black journalists to work as a foreign correspondent for a major daily newspaper, covering Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, died at the age of 79. No specific cause of death was determined.

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Thomas A. Johnson - Thomas A. Johnson, the first Black reporter at Newsday and later, at The New York Times, one of the first Black journalists to work as a foreign correspondent for a major daily newspaper, covering Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, died at the age of 79. No specific cause of death was determined.

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Jerome B. Jones - Pioneering educator Jerome B. Jones, who made history in 1983 as the first Black superintendant for the St. Louis Public Schools and later became a professor at Howard University in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, died as a result of injuries sustained after being struck by an automobile. He was 71.

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Jerome B. Jones - Pioneering educator Jerome B. Jones, who made history in 1983 as the first Black superintendant for the St. Louis Public Schools and later became a professor at Howard University in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, died as a result of injuries sustained after being struck by an automobile. He was 71.

Percy L. Julian Jr. - Percy L. Julian Jr., son of pioneering chemist Percy Julian, who became a distinguised civil rights attorney, died a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 67.

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Percy L. Julian Jr. - Percy L. Julian Jr., son of pioneering chemist Percy Julian, who became a distinguised civil rights attorney, died a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 67.

Mildred Loving - Mildred Loving, a Black woman whose anger over being banished from Virginia for marrying a White man led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban on mixed marriages, died from pneumonia. She was 68.

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Mildred Loving - Mildred Loving, a Black woman whose anger over being banished from Virginia for marrying a White man led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban on mixed marriages, died from pneumonia. She was 68.

Breno Mello - Breno Mello, the sculptured leading man in the classic 1959 Brazilian movie “Black Orpheus,” died on July 14 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, died at age 76.

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Breno Mello - Breno Mello, the sculptured leading man in the classic 1959 Brazilian movie “Black Orpheus,” died on July 14 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, died at age 76.

Thomas Morgan III - Thomas Morgan III, a former reporter and editor at The New York Times, who was a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists, died from complications of AIDS in Southampton, Mass. He was 56.

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Thomas Morgan III - Thomas Morgan III, a former reporter and editor at The New York Times, who was a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists, died from complications of AIDS in Southampton, Mass. He was 56.

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Katoucha Niane - The former super-model muse of fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, Katoucha Niane, was found dead in the Seine River in Paris. An autopsy showed no signs of foul play, pointing to the possibility that the 47-year-old may have fallen accidentally into the river.

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Katoucha Niane - The former super-model muse of fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, Katoucha Niane, was found dead in the Seine River in Paris. An autopsy showed no signs of foul play, pointing to the possibility that the 47-year-old may have fallen accidentally into the river.

Chanda Taylor - Chanda Taylor, president of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and a TV producer who worked for CNN and WSB-TV in Atlanta, died of brain cancer. She was 35.

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Chanda Taylor - Chanda Taylor, president of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and a TV producer who worked for CNN and WSB-TV in Atlanta, died of brain cancer. She was 35.

Pat Tobin - Pat Tobin, a founding member of the Black Public Relations Society and one of the top publicists in the country, representing the likes of Spike Lee and Johnnie Cochran, died after a long battle with cancer. She was 65.

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Pat Tobin - Pat Tobin, a founding member of the Black Public Relations Society and one of the top publicists in the country, representing the likes of Spike Lee and Johnnie Cochran, died after a long battle with cancer. She was 65.

Henrietta Bell Wells - Henrietta Bell Wells, who served as the inspiration behind the lone female character in Denzel Washington's 2007 movie "The Great Debaters," died at the age of 96. She was the last surviving member of the 1930 Wiley College Debate Team.

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Henrietta Bell Wells - Henrietta Bell Wells, who served as the inspiration behind the lone female character in Denzel Washington's 2007 movie "The Great Debaters," died at the age of 96. She was the last surviving member of the 1930 Wiley College Debate Team.