Black America celebrates lives of greats

AN unusually large number of Black benefactors died in 2003 and were celebrated in ceremonies that dramatized the continuity of the Black Spirit. Perhaps the largest celebration was held in Atlanta to commemorate the life of Maynard Holbrook Jackson, the city's first Black mayor who was hailed as a major force in affirmative action and in transforming the Atlanta airport. No less heartfelt were ceremonies held in Notre Dame de L'Ascension Church in Carry-Le-Rouet, southern France, for Nina Simone, in Manhattan for dancer-singer-actor Gregory Hines, in East Orange, N.J., for Larry Doby, and in Newark, N.J., for Althea Gibson, the first Black Wimbledon tennis champion. In Leimert Park Los Angeles, fans held a candlelight vigil and sang and danced to Barry White's hit, "I've Got So Much To Give," in memory of the singer. In several cases, survivors held private services and celebrated later in praise songs, dances and soaring phrases that recalled exemplary lives who will live and teach forever.

Celebrating greatness, Blacks and Whites gathered at funerals and memorial services across America in 2003. Maynard Jackson, the first Black mayor of Atlanta, was hailed (left) at funeral services in Atlanta's Civic Center. Dancer Gregory Hines' brother, dancer Maurice Hines (above), hailed him at memorial service at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Althea Gibson, the first Black Wimbledon champion, was buried after services in Newark attended by a crowd that included her brother, Daniel Gibson. The Rev. Jesse Jackson (right) praised Mamie Till-Mobley, who played a key role in focusing national attention on the lynching of her son, Emmett Till.

Larry Doby, the second Black player in Major League Baseball in modern times, was remembered at Montclair, N.J., funeral attended by Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball in modern times.

Astronaut Michael P. Anderson (top, right) died on the Space Shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated minutes before landing on February 1.

At candlelight vigil in a Los Angeles park (left), fan carried copy of Barry White's album, I've Got So Much To Give.

AMONG DEATHS REPORTED IN 2003

LT. COL. MICHAEL P. ANDERSON, astronaut, Space Shuttle Columbia, born in Spokane, Wash., in 1960, died Feb. 1, in Texas at 43.

IDI AMIN, deposed and much criticized former dictator of Uganda, born in 1925 in Uganda, died August 16 in Saudi Arabia.

CHARLES (CHOLLY) ATKINS, legendary dancer and Motown choreographer, born 1913 in Pratt City, Ala., died April 19 in Las Vegas at 89.

BOBBY BONDS, former Major League Baseball star, one of the first to merge lightning speed with home run power, born in Riverside, Calif., in 1946, died August 23 in San Francisco at age 57.

BENNY CARTER, major jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, born in New York City in 1907, died in Los Angeles July 12 at 95.

NELL CARTER, singer and Broadway, film and TV actress, born 1948 in Birmingham, Ala., died January 23 in Beverly Hills, Calif., at 54.

CELIA CRUZ, great Afro-Cuban singer called the "Queen of Salsa," born in 1924 in Cuba, died July 16 in New Jersey at 78.

VINCENT T. CULLERS, a former EBONY art director who started one of the first Black-owned advertising agencies, born in Chicago in 1924, died Oct. 4 in Chicago at 79.

JAMES E. DAVIS, New York City councilman, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1962, assassinated July 23 in New York City at 41.

PATRICK J. DENNEHY, Baylor University basketball player, born 1982 in Oakland, Calif., confirmed dead July 27 in Waco, Texas, at 21.

LARRY DOBY, American League's first Black player, born 1923 in Camden, S.C., died June 18 in Montclair, N.J.

ALTHEA GIBSON, first Black player to win Wimbledon and U.S. tennis titles, born 1927 in Silver, S.C., died in East Orange, N.J., Sept. 28 at 76.

LUTHER HENDERSON, arranger, conductor, born 1919 in Kansas City, Mo., died July 29 in Manhattan at 84.

GREGORY HINES, tap dancer, actor and singer, born in New York City in 1946, died August 10 in Los Angeles at 57.

JOHN HOUSTON, entertainment executive and father of Whitney Houston, born 1921 in Trenton, N.J., died in New York City at 82.

MAYNARD HOLBROOK JACKSON JR., the first Black mayor of Atlanta, born 1938 in Dallas, Texas, died in Washington, D.C., June 23 at 65.

SAM LACY, pioneering spores writer, born 1903 in Mystic, Conn., died May 8 in Washington, D.C., at 99.

WILLIAM MARSHALL, actor, born 1924 in Gary, Ind., died June 17 in Los Angeles at 78.

MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY, civil rights activist and mother of martyr Emmett Till, born 1921 in Hazelhurst, Miss., died January 6 in Chicago at 81.

HOWARD MOREHEAD EBONY'S first West Coast photographer, a native of Topeka, Kan., who was believed to be 79 at his death in Los Angeles.

ROBERT N.C. NIX JR., former chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, born in Philadelphia in 1928, died in Philadelphia at 75.

YETUNDE PRICE, oldest sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, born in 1972 in California, died September 14 in Compton, Calif., at 31.