Those We Lost — August 21

Honoring those we lost on August 21 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Julia Hayden

Born c. 1857 — died Aug 21, 1874

Reconstruction-era teacher and martyr to Black education.

Hayden traveled from Nashville to teach formerly enslaved children in rural Tennessee during Reconstruction. White supremacists murdered the 17-year-old in her home, making her death a stark example of the terror used to attack Black literacy, teachers, and the institutions freedpeople were building after slavery.

John Amos

Full name: John Allen Amos Jr.

Born Dec 27, 1939 — died Aug 21, 2024

Actor, writer, producer, and television and film trailblazer.

Amos brought authority, humor, and dignity to roles including James Evans Sr. on Good Times and the adult Kunta Kinte in Roots, which earned him an Emmy nomination. His insistence on truthful portrayals of Black families made him an enduring television father figure, while Coming to America expanded his film legacy.

George Jackson

Full name: George Lester Jackson

Born Sep 23, 1941 — died Aug 21, 1971

Prison writer, Black revolutionary, organizer, and central figure in Black August remembrance.

Jackson’s prison letters, published as Soledad Brother, linked incarceration to racism, poverty, and political repression. His death during violence at San Quentin intensified prison activism, influenced the Attica uprising, and became one of the events commemorated through Black August.