Those We Lost — September 5

Honoring those we lost on September 5 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

E. C. Morris

Full name: Elias Camp Morris

Born May 7, 1855 — died September 5, 1922

Minister and founding president of the National Baptist Convention.

Born enslaved in Georgia, Morris led the National Baptist Convention from its 1895 founding for twenty-seven years, building it into the largest Black religious organization in the world. The pews, pulpits, and publishing house he organized became engines of Black education, enterprise, and political life.

Smokey Gaines

Full name: David Gaines

Born in 1940 — died September 5, 2020

Harlem Globetrotter and pioneering college basketball coach.

After starring with the Globetrotters, Gaines became head coach at the University of Detroit and then San Diego State, where in 1979 he became the first Black head coach of a Division I program in California. His showman’s charisma and recruiting built programs and opened sideline doors.

Rich Homie Quan

Birth name: Dequantes Devontay Lamar

Born October 4, 1990 — died September 5, 2024

Atlanta rapper and singer.

Quan’s melodic style helped define 2010s Southern hip-hop through "Type of Way," the platinum "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)," and his era-shaping Rich Gang work on "Lifestyle" with Young Thug. He died at thirty-three, his sound echoing through the generation of melodic rappers who followed.