Those We Lost — August 18

Honoring those we lost on August 18 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Albert Murray

Full name: Albert Lee Murray

Born May 12, 1916 — died Aug 18, 2013

Essayist, novelist, critic, biographer, educator, and interpreter of Black American culture.

Murray argued that Black culture—especially blues and jazz—was central to American identity, rejecting narrow ideas of race and folklore. Books including The Omni-Americans, South to a Very Old Place, and Stomping the Blues reshaped cultural criticism and influenced the vision behind Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Hal Singer

Full name: Harold Joseph Singer

Born Oct 8, 1919 — died Aug 18, 2020

Jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and Tulsa Race Massacre survivor.

Singer scored an early R&B hit with “Corn Bread” and brought a robust Texas tenor sound to recordings and stages in the United States and France. His century-long life connected the destruction of Black Tulsa with the global growth of jazz and rhythm and blues.

Vivian Ayers Allen

Birth name: Vivian Elizabeth Ayers

Born Jul 29, 1923 — died Aug 18, 2025

Poet, playwright, cultural activist, classicist, educator, and museum curator.

Allen’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection Spice of Dawns and long dramatic poem Hawk joined Black history, space science, and classical traditions. She became Rice University’s first full-time Black faculty member and built Houston institutions that expanded arts education and cultural memory.

Louis Stokes

Born Feb 23, 1925 — died Aug 18, 2015

Civil rights lawyer, congressman, Congressional Black Caucus leader, and public servant.

Stokes argued the landmark Terry v. Ohio case before the Supreme Court and became the first Black member of Congress from Ohio. Over 30 years in the House, he advanced civil rights, health equity, education, and economic development while opening doors in congressional leadership.

Pervis Jackson

Born May 17, 1938 — died Aug 18, 2008

Bass singer, founding member of the Spinners, and anchor of the group’s vocal harmony.

Jackson’s resonant bass helped ground the Spinners from their Detroit beginnings through their classic Philadelphia soul recordings. His signature spoken line in “Games People Play” became a fan favorite, while his steadiness and humor helped hold the group together for more than five decades.