Young, Black and Dead

It's Black History Month.  Blink & you'll miss it.

The number of deaths in the past few years has been staggering across the board, but none more so than in the Black community.  Black folks are dying younger & from more preventable causes than any ethnic group aside from Native Americans, and COVID has only accelerated the death spiral by contributing to excess cardiovascular & pulmonary mortality.  And we can't forget the rampant police brutality that's ramped up in recent years.  Unfortunately Black stars don't always escape the early death vortex:  When it comes to public figures & celebrities, Black people account for a disproportionate number of those in contact sports like boxing, soccer and American football (which often results in CTE/premature death due to grievous injury) and Hip Hop, which is plagued with gun violence.  

Below I've listed the significant & beloved figures we've lost from 2019-2023 to a variety of causes ranging from police brutality to COVID to suicide & cancer.  I'm doing it in the hopes that they won't be forgotten in this TikTok-obsessed, 280-character limit society.  If a name sounds familiar but you can't quite place the face, Google them & see what pops up.  Or try it with a name you've never heard before.  The worst that could happen is you learn about a new interesting person.  

I'm including only people 65 & under to illustrate the abnormal number of young deaths in the Black community.  Maybe if people see them all in one place they'll be startled into action instead of the steady stream of "R.I.P legend" and "C U Wen I get there player" type posts.  Apathy = complicity in a world where many Black Americans' life spans are similar to a white man's in 1930.  Keep in mind the average life expectancy for white American men is 76.3 and for women is 81.4 years as of the time of this writing (2023).  

You don't have to be Black to care.  (I'm not).  These are your fellow Americans, your neighbors, the people your children aspire to be like.  And now they're gone, their lives cut brutally short never to draw another breath.  No matter the profession or cause of death, this is not normal & shouldn't be accepted as such.

NAME & AGE AT DEATH

(2019-2023)

Chadwick Boseman - 43

Bushwick Bill - 52

John Singleton - 51

Nipsey Hussle - 31

Elijah McClain - 23

Juice WRLD - 21

Kobe Bryant & daughter Gianna - 41 & 13

Jas Waters - 39

Naya Rivera - 33

Black Rob - 51

Diamond Lynette Hardaway - 51

George Floyd - 46

DMX - 50

Shock G - 57

Michael K. Williams - 54

Pop Smoke - 20

Tommy DeBarge - 64

DJ Kay Slay - 55

Young Dolph - 36

Coolio - 59

MF DOOM - 49

Kirsnick Khari "Takeoff" Ball  - 28

Breonna Taylor - 26

Gangsta Boo - 43

PnB Rock - 30

Cedrick Benson - 36

Ahmaud Arbery - 25

Andre Harrell - 59

Biz Markie - 57

Diane Durham - 52

Nick Gordon - 30

Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quinones - 65

Virgil Abloh - 41

Trugoy the Dove - 54

Jesse Lemonier - 25

CJ Harris - 31

Uche Nwaneri - 38

DJ Steven tWitch Boss - 40

Jo Mersa Marley - 31

Traci Braxton - 50

Kevin Samuels - 57

Kangol Kid - 55

Leonard "Hub" Hubbard - 62

Demaryius Thomas - 33

Greg Tate - 64

Jovita Moore - 53

Anthony "A.J." Johnson - 56

Steve "Zumbi" Gaines - 49

Cameron Burrell - 26

Suzzanne Douglas - 64

Sanyika "Monster Kody" Shakur - 57

Jahmil French - 28

Prince Markie Dee - 52

Honorable mention (died same time period; over 65):  Toots Hibbert, Herman Cain, Bell Hooks, Paul Mooney, Cicely Tyson, Sidney Poitier, Toni Morrison, Elijah Cummings, Robert Mugabe, John Witherspoon, Colin Powell, Desmond Tutu, Pele, Andre Leon Talley, John Lewis