Sidney Poitier, a legendary Black actor and civil rights activist has passed away in Los Angeles, CA on January 6, 2022. He was 94 years old.
His death was confirmed by the office of the prime minister of the Bahamas. Sidney Poitier was the first Black man even to win a Best Actor Oscar. Sidney Poitier, whose parents hailed from the Bahamas, was also known for being the most prominent, if not the only representative of African-Americans in mainstream cinema during the tumultous period of the American Civil Rights movement.
Life
Louisiana, USA: Civil Rights Activist Homer Plessy, Unjustly Condemned for Protesting Against Racism, Pardoned Almost 130 Years Later
On Wednesday, January 5, 2022, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a pardon for civil rights activist Homer Plessy, 130 years after his arrest, trial and conviction, for protesting against racism. Homer Plessy's landmark case, Plessy v. Ferguson, was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where all White judges ruled in a 7-1 majority against him, reinforcing the racist "separate but equal" doctrine in the U.S and setting the foundation of the Jim Crow regime in the US southern states.
South Africa: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Freedom Struggle Icon and African Dictators Critic, dies at 90
Nobel Prize Laureate, Freedom struggle icon and Leader in the South African Council of Churches Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died on December 26, 2021. He was 90 years old. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is considered as one of African freedom heroes for the struggle against apartheid , corruption, dictatorship, and kleptocracy.
USA: Colin Powell, Black Military and Political Leader and National Hero, Passes Away, at 84
General Colin Luther Powell, one of the most prominent Black US military and political figures has passed away. He was 84 years old.
According to the statement from his family, he died from COVID-19 complications. General Colin Powell is well known for his firsts as a Black African American: first US Black National Security Adviser, fist Black Secretary of State, and the youngest and Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Colin Powell, a long-time republican, was also known for endorsing the fist Black President Barack Obama, a democrat, and in the process, declining to run for president himself despite pressures from his party and republican supporters and instead endorsing other candidates, mostly democrats.