Those We Lost — July 9

Honoring those we lost on July 9 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

James Farmer

Full name: James Leonard Farmer Jr.

Born January 12, 1920 — died July 9, 1999

Civil rights leader, organizer, educator, Freedom Rider, and co-founder of CORE.

Farmer helped build the Congress of Racial Equality and became one of the major leaders of the civil rights movement. His work with nonviolent direct action, desegregation campaigns, and the Freedom Rides made him a central figure in the fight against Jim Crow.

Isabel Sanford

Real name: Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford

Born August 29, 1917 — died July 9, 2004

Actress, comedian, stage performer, and television pioneer.

Sanford became a television landmark through her role as Louise “Weezy” Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons. She became the first Black actress to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, helping change what Black women could represent on American sitcom television.

Phil Freelon

Full name: Philip Goodwin Freelon

Born March 26, 1953 — died July 9, 2019

Architect, designer, professor, mentor, and lead architect connected to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Freelon helped shape public memory through architecture, most famously through his work on the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. His buildings, mentorship, and design leadership opened doors for Black architects and gave physical form to Black history in major public spaces.