Those We Lost — September 22

Honoring those we lost on September 22 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Vesta Williams

Full name: Mary Vesta Williams

Born December 1, 1957 — died September 22, 2011

R&B singer.

Vesta’s four-octave range powered "Once Bitten Twice Shy," "Sweet Sweet Love," and "Congratulations" — one of R&B’s great heartbreak performances. Big-voiced, funny, and fearless, she remains a quiet storm essential.

Roy Clay Sr.

Full name: Roy L. Clay Sr.

Born August 22, 1929 — died September 22, 2024

Computer scientist, the Godfather of Silicon Valley.

Once told a company had "no jobs for professional Negroes," Clay went on to lead the team that built Hewlett-Packard’s first computer, serve as one of Palo Alto’s first Black councilmen, and found ROD-L Electronics — hiring and mentoring generations of Black engineers in the valley that once shut him out.