Lives

Crisis, The, Jul/Aug 2003

Janet Collins, 86, a prima ballerina and the first Black dancer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House, died May 28 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Christopher Fairfield Edley, 75, president emeritus of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), died May 5 in New Rochelle, N.Y., after a heart attack. Edley, who headed the UNCF from 1973-1991, started an annual telethon that helped raised funds for students at private Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Earl King, 69, flamboyant New Orleans R&B guitarist, died April 18 from diabetes-related complications. He wrote and recorded hundreds of songs throughout his 50-year career, including "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)."

Sam Lacy, 99, legendary sports columnist, died May 8 in Washington, D.C. Lacy campaigned for the integration of Major League Baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Burke Marshall, 80, a Justice Department lawyer who was a key figure in the government's desegregation efforts in the South during the Kennedy administration, died June 2 in Newton, Conn., of a bone marrow disorder.

James "Spider" Martin, 64, a Birmingham News photographer, died April 2 in Birmingham, Ala. He was known for his pictures of the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" beatings on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the march from Selma to Montgomery.

Ruby Grant Martin, 70, first director of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, died May 8 in Richmond, Va.

Howard "Sandman" Sims, 86, the celebrated tap dancer who chased unpopular acts off the stage at the Apollo Theatre, died May 20 in New York City. Sims, who got his stage name by dancing on sprinkled sand, taught famed tappers Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen.

Shirley B. Stamps, 59, who helped desegregate public schools in Wilmington, Del., died of a heart attack May 28 in Wilmington. Her case was the first time a segregated public school was ordered by a U.S. court to admit Black children. The case became part of 1954's Brown vs. Board of Education.

Wallace Terry, 65, a journalist and author, died May 29 at a suburban Virginia hospital of inflammation of the blood vessels. In 1960, Terry joined The Washington Post, becoming one of the few Blacks working at a mainstream newspaper. He was author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans.

Matilda Walker, 85, once one of the nation's top tennis players, died May 16 in Prince George's County, Md., of complications from pneumonia. In 1944 and 1946, Walker won the national title of the American Tennis Association, an organization for Black tennis players, beating legendary tennis star Althea Gibson in 1946.

Henry A. Wise Jr., 82, a former Tuskegee Airman, died May 2 in Cheverly, Md., after a heart attack. Wise was a combat pilot with the 99th Pursuit Squadron during World War II. He became a prominent physician and for 14 years was the only Black physician at Prince George's Hospital.