Obituaries
Robert Moses, Civil Rghts Activist And Education Advocate, Passes Away
Moses was a pioneering activist who endured beatings and jailed while leading Black voter registration drives in the American South during the 1960s.
Robert Moses, a stalwart civil rights and education activist, has died. He was 86.
The NBC reports Moses wife confirmed he passed away Sunday morning in Hollywood, Florida.
No cause of death was revealed.
Moses was a pioneering activist who endured beatings and jailed while leading Black voter registration drives in the American South during the 1960s.
On Sunday, reactions to Moses’ death poured in across social media from admirers, educators and activists alike.
Reactions To Robert Moses Death
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center called Moses a “leader,” among other accolades.
“#BobMoses has died. What a brilliant, conscious, compassionately active human being. Educator. Organizer. Leader. Rest well, sir,” the center tweeted.
Director and activist Ava DuVernay shared a quote from the activist Tom Hayden about Moses after the news of Moses’ death.
“‘When people asked what to do, he asked them what they thought. At meetings, he usually sat in the back and spoke last. He slept on floors, wore overalls, shared the risks, took the blows, he dug in deeply.’ – Tom Hayden on Bob Moses, who has journeyed home and who loved us so,” she Tweeted.
Robert Moses Was A Steadfast Civil Rights Activist
Moses was born in Harlem, New York, on January 23, 1935, two months after a race riot in the neighborhood.
His grandfather, William Henry Moses, was a prominent Southern Baptist preacher and a supporter of Marcus Garvey, a Black nationalist leader.
Education
Moses attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and became deeply influenced by the work of French philosopher Albert Camus and his ideas of rationality and urge for social change.
He later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University.
Moses worked as a teacher in Tanzania, Africa, returned to Harvard to earn a doctorate in philosophy and taught high school math in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Southern Activism
Moses didn’t spend much time in the Deep South until he went on a recruiting trip in 1960 to “see the movement for myself.”
“I was taught about the denial of the right to vote behind the Iron Curtain in Europe,” Moses said. “I never knew that there was (the) denial of the right to vote behind a Cotton Curtain here in the United States.”
“The sits-in woke me up,” recalled Moses, discussing how his involvement with southern struggle began.
During his time in the South, the
young civil rights activist tried to register Blacks to vote in Mississippi’s rural Amite County where he was beaten and arrested.
When he tried to file charges against a white assailant, an all-white jury acquitted the man and a judge provided protection to Moses to the county line so he could leave.
In 1963, he and two other activists — James Travis and Randolph Blackwell — were driving in Greenwood, Mississippi, when someone opened fire on them and the 20-year-old Travis was hit.
In a press release from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Moses described how bullets whizzed around them and how Moses took the wheel when Travis was struck and stopped the car.
“We all were within inches of being killed,” Moses said in the 1963 press release.
He later helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which sought to challenge the all-white Democratic delegation from Mississippi.
But then President Lyndon Johnson prevented the group of mutineer Democrats from voting in the convention and instead let Jim Crown southerners remain, drawing national attention.
Second Chapter of Activism
Moses later started his “second chapter in civil rights work” by founding the Algebra Project in 1982.
The project included a curriculum Moses developed to help disenfranchised middle and high school students succeed in math.
Photo Credit: Miller Center
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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