Those We Lost — August 20

Honoring those we lost on August 20 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Sathima Bea Benjamin

Birth name: Beatrice Bertha Benjamin

Born Oct 17, 1936 — died Aug 20, 2013

South African jazz vocalist, composer, lyricist, and longtime New York recording artist.

Benjamin carried the musical memory of Cape Town into a nearly 45-year New York career shaped by Black American jazz. Encouraged by Duke Ellington and working alongside Abdullah Ibrahim and leading American musicians, she created a restrained, intimate vocal style that connected African and African American jazz traditions.

Gene Upshaw

Full name: Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr.

Born Aug 15, 1945 — died Aug 20, 2008

Pro Football Hall of Fame guard, Oakland Raiders leader, and NFL players’ union executive.

Upshaw became the first player who spent his career exclusively at guard to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame and reached the Super Bowl with the Raiders in three different decades. As executive director of the NFL Players Association, he shaped free agency, labor negotiations, and player rights.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones

Birth name: Stephanie Tubbs

Born Sep 10, 1949 — died Aug 20, 2008

Attorney, judge, congresswoman, and barrier-breaking Ohio political leader.

Tubbs Jones became the first Black woman elected to Congress from Ohio, the first Black woman on the House Ways and Means Committee, and one of the first Black women to chair a standing House committee. She joined legal experience with advocacy for voting rights, health care, education, and urban communities.