Those We Lost
Those We Lost — May 9
May
Honoring those we lost on May 9 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.
Lena Horne
Born June 30, 1917 — Died May 9, 2010
Field: Music / Film / Theater / Civil Rights
Lena Horne was a singer, actress, dancer, and civil rights activist whose career crossed Hollywood, Broadway, television, recording, and nightclub performance.
Why it matters: Horne’s story is not just glamour. It is breakthrough, limitation, resistance, and dignity in an entertainment world that tried to control how Black women could appear.
Canada Lee
Born March 3, 1907 — Died May 9, 1952
Field: Theater / Film / Boxing / Blacklist Era
Canada Lee was a boxer turned actor who became one of the most important Black dramatic performers of his era.
Why it matters: Lee’s life connects Black performance, political courage, racial restriction, and the pressure of the anti-communist blacklist era.
Little Richard
Born December 5, 1932 — Died May 9, 2020
Field: Rock and Roll / R&B / Gospel / Black Performance
Little Richard, born Richard Wayne Penniman, was one of the foundational architects of rock and roll. His voice, piano attack, stage presence, fashion, and wild emotional delivery helped define the sound and performance language of early rock music.
Why it matters: Little Richard is essential because rock and roll cannot be honestly told without him. His music carried Black church fire, blues energy, R&B rhythm, and theatrical freedom into a sound that changed American popular culture.
