Those We Lost
Those We Lost — September 20
Sep
Honoring those we lost on September 20 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.
J. California Cooper
Full name: Joan California Cooper
Born November 10, 1931 — died September 20, 2014
Playwright and fiction writer.
Discovered by Alice Walker, Cooper wrote folk-wise stories of ordinary Black women — collections like A Piece of Mine and the novel Family — in a voice so intimate readers felt personally addressed. She won the American Book Award and turned oral tradition into literature without losing its warmth.
Sarah Dash
Born August 18, 1945 — died September 20, 2021
Singer and cofounder of Labelle.
From the Bluebelles’ sweet harmonies to the space-age funk of "Lady Marmalade," Dash helped make Labelle the first Black vocal group to headline the Metropolitan Opera House and the first on the cover of Rolling Stone. She sang with Patti LaBelle one final time just weeks before her passing.
Hollis Watkins
Born in 1941 — died September 20, 2023
SNCC organizer and freedom song leader.
The first Mississippi student to join SNCC’s voter registration work, Watkins was jailed in McComb, sang freedom songs from Parchman’s cells, and spent six decades organizing his home state. His voice — literally — carried the movement.
