Those We Lost — November 6

Honoring those we lost on November 6 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Samuel Cornish

Born 1795 — died November 6, 1858

Co-founder of Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper

Samuel Cornish, a free-born Presbyterian minister from Delaware, organized the first Black Presbyterian congregation in New York and in 1827 founded Freedom’s Journal with John Russwurm, the first newspaper owned and edited by Black Americans. He went on to edit The Colored American and helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society. He died in Brooklyn on November 6, 1858.

William Wells Brown

Born c. 1814 — died November 6, 1884

Escaped slavery; first Black American novelist and playwright

William Wells Brown, born into slavery near Lexington, Kentucky, and raised near St. Louis, escaped in 1834 and lectured against slavery in America and Europe. His 1853 novel Clotel made him the first African American to publish a novel, and he was also the first to publish a play and a travel book; he later wrote histories including The Black Man and The Negro in the American Rebellion. He died in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on November 6, 1884.

Clarence Williams

Born October 8, 1898 (some sources give October 6, 1893) — died November 6, 1965

Jazz pianist, publisher and producer of Bessie Smith’s first sessions

Clarence Williams of Plaquemine, Louisiana, was a pianist, composer, producer and publisher. In 1915 he and Armand Piron started a music-publishing business, and by the 1920s his was the leading Black-owned music publisher in the country; he recorded with many leading blues and jazz artists of the decade and sold his catalog to Decca in 1943. He died in Queens, New York, on November 6, 1965.

Marcus Foster

Born March 31, 1923 — died November 6, 1973

Oakland’s first Black school superintendent

Marcus Foster turned around failing Philadelphia schools and in 1970 became the first Black superintendent of the Oakland schools, where he was widely admired. On November 6, 1973, two members of the Symbionese Liberation Army shot him with cyanide-tipped bullets as he left a school board meeting; the group falsely accused him of planning to put police and ID cards in the schools. He was 50.

King Von

Born August 9, 1994 — died November 6, 2020

Chicago drill rapper, ‘Crazy Story’

King Von came out of Chicago’s O’Block with Lil Durk’s Only the Family crew and built a national following on narrative drill records like ‘Crazy Story’ and the album Welcome to O’Block, released a week before his death. Early on November 6, 2020, a fight outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta turned into a shootout, and he was shot and killed at 26.

Tony Todd

Born December 4, 1954 — died November 6, 2024

Actor, ‘Candyman’

Tony Todd, born in Washington, D.C., became a horror icon as the hook-handed Candyman and also appeared in the Final Destination and Transformers films and several Star Trek series. He died at his home in Marina del Rey, California, on November 6, 2024, at 69.

Marshawn Kneeland

Born July 8, 2001 — died November 6, 2025

Dallas Cowboys defensive end

Marshawn Kneeland, a second-round pick from Western Michigan in 2024, was in his second season with the Dallas Cowboys and had recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown on Monday Night Football days earlier. He died by suicide in Frisco, Texas, early on November 6, 2025, after a police chase the night before. He was 24.