Those We Lost — September 17

Honoring those we lost on September 17 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Dred Scott

Born around 1799 — died September 17, 1858

Freedom petitioner whose case shook the nation.

Scott sued for his liberty and carried the case to the Supreme Court, where the infamous 1857 decision declared Black people had no rights the white man was bound to respect — a ruling so obscene it hastened the Civil War. Freed by private manumission months later, he lived barely a year as a free man; the Fourteenth Amendment ultimately buried the decision his courage exposed.

Harold Mabern

Born March 20, 1936 — died September 17, 2019

Jazz pianist and educator.

The Memphis master’s powerful two-handed swing backed Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, and Wes Montgomery, and his decades of teaching at William Paterson University passed the bandstand’s wisdom to new generations.