Singer Lou Rawls dies on this date.

Singer Wilson Pickett dies on this date. He was 64 years old.

Tap dancing legend1991"> Fayard Nicholas dies on this date at the age of 91.

Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist and wife of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, passes away on this date at the age of 78.

Versatile actor Terrence Howard is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in1991"> Hustle & Flow by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on this date.

Coretta Scott King's funeral service is held on this date at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia.

Electrician and organizer1991"> Charles Stewart passes away on this date at the age of 95.

Electrician1991"> Charles Stewart dies.

Civil rights and community activist, attorney, politician and president of the United Black Fund1991"> Wilhelmina Rolark passes away on this date.

President, United Black Fund1991"> Wilhelmina Rolark dies.

Chicago native Shani Davis becomes the first African American male to win a gold medal in Winter Olympics history on this date in Turino, Italy. He won the 1000 meters speed skating competition. He is also the first African American to make a U.S. Olympic speed skating team.

Rap group Three 6 Mafia wins Oscar for Best Song from the film, Hustle1991"> & Flow on this date.

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time World Series Champion Kirby Puckett dies on this date.

Prolific photographer, writer and film director1991"> Gordon Parks, Sr. passes away on this date at the age of 93.

Photographer, Writer1991"> & Director Gordon Parks, Sr. dies.

Ballet dancer and instructor1991"> Doris Jones dies on this date in Washington, D.C.

Musician1991"> James "Piano C Red" Wheeler is shot and paralyzed on this date during a robbery.

President of the Kunta Kinte1991"> - Alex Haley Foundation Leonard Blackshear dies on this day at the age of 62.

Political leader1991"> George L. Brown dies on this date.

Singer June Pointer of The Pointer Singers passes away on this date.

Tuskegee Airmen Lt. Col. William Thompson dies on this date. He is 90 years old.

Corporate Executive1991"> Darwin Davis, Sr. passes away on this date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Corporate Executive1991"> Darwin Davis, Sr. dies.

Earl Woods, father of golf pro Tiger Woods, dies on this date in1991"> California.

Visual artist1991"> Ralph Arnold dies on this date.

Former heavyweight champion of the world Floyd Patterson passes away on this date. He is 71 years old.

Civil Rights activist1991"> Eugenia Fortes passes away on this date. She is 94 years old.

Civil Rights Activist1991"> Eugenia Fortes dies.

Dancer and choreographer1991"> Katherine Dunham dies on this date in New York City. She is 96 years old.

Composer, arranger, conductor and music dducator1991"> John Ross dies on this date.

Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade is named1991"> NBA Finals MVP on this date as the Miami Heat defeat the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA World Championship.

Actor and theatrical director1991"> Lloyd Richards dies on this date.

Physician and social activist Dr. Gilbert Mason, Sr. dies on this date in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Educator and administrator Richard Fairley dies on this date.

17 Black baseball players are inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame on this date in Cooperstown, New York. Negro Leaguer Buck O'Neil spoke for the 17 who are all deceased at the ceremony. Those inducted included Negro Leaguers Biz Mackey, Buck Leonard, Ray Brown, pre-Negro leaguer Frank Grant, Newark Eagles owner Effa Manley and Jud Wilson.

Biloxi, Mississippi Mayor A.J. Holloway proclaims this day Dr. Gilbert Mason Day on this date in Biloxi, Mississippi.

NFL defensive end Reggie White, quarterback Warren Moon, linebacker Harry Carson and offensive tackle Rayfield Wright are all inducted into Pro Football's Hall of Fame on this date in Canton, Ohio.

The last living member of the1991"> "Golden Thirteen", Frank Sublett, Jr., dies on this date at the age of 86. The "Golden Thirteen" were the first Black officers in the U.S. Navy.

Negro Baseball League great Buck O'Neil passes away on this date in1991"> Kansas City, Missouri. O'Neil was the first African American manager of a Major League Baseball team, the Chicago Cubs.

Scholar and Diplomat1991"> Sandye Jean McIntyre II dies.

Archive founder1991"> Mayme Clayton dies on this date at the age of 83.

Photographer Bill Stewart dies on this date in1991"> Chicago, Illinois at the age of 91.

Peabody and1991"> Emmy award winning journalist Ed Bradley dies on this date at the age of 65.

Grammy nominated1991"> R&B singer Gerald Levert dies on this date of a heart attack at the age of 40.

Grammy and Tony award winning1991"> R&B singer Ruth Brown dies on this date in Las Vegas.

Blues guitarist1991"> Robert Lockwood, Jr. dies on this date in Cleveland, Ohio.

Journalist1991"> Thomas C. Fleming dies on this date at the age of 98.

Former managing editor of the New York Times, Gerald Boyd dies on this date in New York.

Robert McFerrin, Sr., the first Black male soloist to sing at the New York Metropolitan1991"> Opera, dies on this date. He is the father of Grammy-winning artist Bobby McFerrin.

Author1991"> Bebe Moore Campbell dies on this date.

Author1991"> Bebe Moore Campbell dies.

R&B legend James Brown dies on this date. Nicknamed the1991"> "Godfather of Soul" and The "hardest working man in show business", Brown won three Grammys during his career, including a Lifetimie Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is credited with helping to establish funk and hip hop genres of music. He is 73 years old.

Over 8,000 people attend the funeral services for James Brown in Augusta, Georgia on this date. Michael Jackson, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., MC Hammer, Dick Gregory, Rev. Al Sharpton and several others all attended the services.