Obituaries
Gloria Richardson, Civil Rights Pioneer, Passes Away At 99
Gloria Richardson, an influential yet largely unsung civil rights pioneer, has died. She was 99.
Gloria Richardson, an influential yet largely unsung civil rights activist and pioneer, has died. She was 99.
Tya Young, her granddaughter, said Richardson died in her sleep Thursday in New York City and had not been ill, the Associated Press reports.
The Gloria Richardson Story
Her courageous acts went largely unheard.
Richardson’s determination to not back down while protesting racial inequality was captured in a photograph as she pushed away the bayonet of a National Guardsman.
“She did it because it needed to be done, and she was born a leader,” Young said.
Richardson was the first woman to lead a prolonged grassroots civil rights movement outside the Deep South.
Cambridge Movement
In 1962, she helped organized and led the Cambridge Movement on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with sit-ins to desegregate restaurants, bowling alleys and movie theaters in protests that marked an early part of the Black Power movement.
“I say that the Cambridge Movement was the soil in which Richardson planted a seed of Black power and nurtured its growth,” said Joseph R. Fitzgerald, who wrote a 2018 biography on Richardson titled “The Struggle is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation.”
Richardson became the leader of demonstrations over economic issues like jobs, health care access and sufficient housing.
“Everything that the Black Lives Matter movement is working at right now is a continuation of what the Cambridge Movement was doing,” Fitzgerald said.
And she never wavered.
In pursuit of these goals, Richardson advocated for the right of Black people to defend themselves when attacked.
“Richardson always supported the use of nonviolent direct action during protests, but once the protests were over and if Black people were attacked by whites she fully supported their right to defend themselves,” Fitzgerald said.
Richardson was born in Baltimore and later migrated to Cambridge in Maryland’s Dorchester County — the same county where Harriet Tubman was born.
She enrolled at the prestigious Howard University at only 16 years old. While in D.C., she protested the segregation of a drug store.
In the summer of 1963, Richardson was back in Cambridge and led peaceful sit-ins that unfortunately turned violent.
Cambridge, Gov. J. Millard Tawes declared martial law. When Cambridge Mayor Calvin Mowbray asked Richardson to halt the demonstrations in exchange for an end to the arrests of Black protesters, Richardson declined to do so.
On June 11, rioting by white supremacists erupted and Tawes called in the National Guard.
Treaty of Cambridge
While the city was still under the National Guard’s watch, Richardson met with U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to negotiate what became informally known as the “Treaty of Cambridge.”
Richardson’s resilience ordered equal access to public accommodations in Cambridge in return for a one-year moratorium on demonstrations.
Richardson was a signatory to the treaty, but she had never agreed to end the demonstrations.
It wasn’t until the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that began to resolve issues at the local level.
She was one of the nation’s leading female civil rights activists and inspired younger activists who went on to protest racial inequality in the late 1960s and into the 1970s.
Richardson was on the 1963 March On Washington program as a “fighters for freedom”. However, she was only allowed to say “hello” before the microphone was taken.
Many believe her voice might have been suppressed largely due to a male-centric Black Power movement.
Richardson’s leadership in Cambridge lasted only about three years, which may have obscured her influence, but Fitzgerald said she was well-known in Black Power movement.
“She was only active for approximately three years, but during that time she was literally front and center in a high-stakes Black liberation campaign, and she’s being threatened,” Fitzgerald told the Associated Press.
“She’s got white supremacist terrorists threatening her, calling her house, threatening her with her life.”
Life After Cambridge
Richardson resigned from Cambridge, Maryland, Nonviolent Action Committee in the summer of 1964. She divorced from her first husband and got remarried to photographer Frank Dandridge, reports The Associated Press.
She moved to New York where she worked a variety of jobs, including for the National Council for Negro Women.
Gloria Richardson is survived by her daughters, Donna Orange and Tamara Richardson, and granddaughters Tya Young and Michelle Price.
Obituaries
O.J. Simpson, football Hall of famer, dies at 76 after cancer battle
O.J. Simpson, the football hall of famer and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend, has died. He was 76.
O.J. Simpson, the football hall of famer and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of murder charges, has died.
He was 76.
Family announces passing
The family announced on Simpson’s official X account that Simpson passed Wednesday after battling prostate cancer. He died in Las Vegas, officials there said Thursday.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” the family posted on Simpson’s X account.
Life of ups and downs for O.J. Simpson
Simpson was a former NFL star, actor, and broadcaster whose athletic achievements and fame were eclipsed by his 1995 trial in the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
The infamous case
Simpson assembled a “dream team” defense for the trial.
He didn’t testify, but the prosecution asked him to try on the gloves in court. He struggled to squeeze them onto his hands and spoke his only three words of the trial: “They’re too small.”
His attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. told the jurors, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
Acquitted
Simpson was acquitted of murder for both his ex-wife and Goldman.
The proceedings captivated the country, with tens of millions of viewers tuning in at home and at work and sparked heavy debates on race.
Though acquitted of murders, in 1997, a civil trial jury unanimously deemed Simpson liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Served time
Years later at 61, Simpson served about nine years in prison for an unrelated case involving a memorabilia robbery in Las Vegas. He was released in 2017 on parole.
Football career
After graduating from high school, Simpson enrolled at City College of San Francisco for a year and a half before transferring to the University of Southern California for the spring 1967 semester to play football.
At USC, Simpson dominated the collegiate football and received the Heisman trophy in 1968.
NFL
Simpson went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL, nine of them with the Buffalo Bills, where earning him the moniker “The Juice” and ran behind an offensive line known as “The Electric Company.”
He won four NFL rushing titles, rushed for 11,236 yards in his career, scored 76 touchdowns and played in five Pro Bowls. His best season was 1973, when he ran for 2,003 yards, the first running back to accomplish breaking the 2,000-yard rushing mark.
O.J. Simpson’s Legacy
Simpson leaves behind five children. He shared three children, Arnelle, Jason and Aaren, with his first wife, Marguerite Whitley, and welcomed two kids, Sydney and Justin, with his second wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
Obituaries
Legendary DJ Mister Cee passes away
Mister Cee, the legendary New York City radio DJ, has died. He was 57 years old.
Calvin LeBrun, the legendary New York City radio DJ known as Mister Cee, has died. He was 57 years old.
DJ Mister Cee passes
Cee, who grew up in Brooklyn,was a prominent figure in the hip-hop scene in New York City.
He got his start as a DJ and producer for Big Daddy Kane, taking part in Kane’s debut album. Cee is also often credited with discovering another pillar of Brooklyn hip-hop, the Notorious B.I.G. He also played a role in launching the careers of Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, 50 Cent, Drake among others.
Cee’s long-running “Throwback at Noon” show became one of the most listened to programs in NYC radio at Hot 97. At the time of his death, he was working for Audacy’s 94.7 The Block in New York.
“We have lost the iconic Mister Cee. I listened to him yesterday and am in complete shock. He was a dear friend to all of us, a wonderful man, and one of the most important and impactful DJs of all time. I love you Cee”, Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg said.
No cause of death has been revealed.
Obituaries
Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis dies at 35
Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis was found dead in a Florida mansion, police said Monday. He was 35. No cause of death was revealed.
Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis has died at the age of 35.
Passing details
Davis was found by police Monday at his home in Southwest Ranches, Fla., reports NBC.
Officers were disparched Monday morning to a residence in the 6000 block of SW 178th Avenue by the house assistant, who discovered Davis’ body, the Davie Police Department said in a statement.
“Preliminary information suggests that foul play is not involved,” the department said.
The details of Davis cause of death were not released.
Vontae Davis NFL Career
A native of Washington, D.C., Davis was selected by Miami as the 25th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He played college football at the University of Illinois.
Davis spent 10 seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills, achieving a record of 22 interceptions and made the Pro Bowl twice.
He had one of the most memorable retirements. At halftime in 2018 with the Bills, he hung up his pads and walked off the field.
In a statement about the retirement mid-game, Davis said: “This isn’t how I pictured retiring from the NFL. But today, on the field, reality hit me hard and fast. I shouldn’t be out there anymore. … I meant no disrespect to my teammates or coaches.”
Life after retirement for Vontae Davis
After retirement, Davis co-wrote a children’s book about overcoming a tough upbringing and becoming an NFL superstar.
He also operated a wellness spa, Vzone, that specialized in oxygen treatments. According to Davis’s LinkedIn profile, he was chief executive of Davis Family Hospitality Group, described as “a comprehensive support system encompassing mentorship and safeguarding for athletes.”
Vontae’s older brother is former NFL star Vernon Davis.
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