Earlier this year, I have written the following blog posts on prominent people who have passed away this year.
On NBA's David Stern & Kobe Bryant: https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/02/david-stern-and-kobe-bryant.html
On Rock & roll guitar legend Eddie Van Halen: https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/10/eddie-van-halen.html
On political & economic thinkers Walter Williams & Dick Rowland: https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/12/remembering-advocates-for-economic.html
And on some people known in Hawaii (willie Talamoa, Raymond Perty, Willie K, Kaulana Pakele): https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/09/notes-on-recent-deaths.html
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I also wrote a few blog posts on people I have known in my personal life
Lu-Ann Aguilar https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-memory-of-lu-ann-aguilar.html
Anson Hokama: https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/06/in-memory-of-anson-hokama.html
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And now for the people I haven't got around to blogging about but still deserving of some recognition
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (aka RBG)
RBG was a Supreme Court justice since 1994. Before that, she was a lawyer specializing in gender equity cases.
RBG was appointed by Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and sided with liberals in most cases. However, she was also known for being friends with a more conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
RBG was still in the Supreme Court at an age when her peers would've been retired. Due to her age and the increasing polarization of USA politics, many hoped she could live until after Trump's presidency ends. But it was not meant to be.
I wish our Constitution would've had term limits for Supreme Court justices, like maybe 10 years at most. That way, RBG would've been long retired, and people wouldn't have pinned their hopes on someone to remain alive at an old age just because they fear the current president would appoint someone they don't like.
learn more at
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/09/18/breaking-news/supreme-court-says-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-has-died-of-metastatic-pancreatic-cancer-at-age-87/
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John Lewis
John Lewis was a civil rights activist turned politician! He went from demanding the right for African-Americans to vote to being elected to Congress as a representative.
In 1965, at the age of 25, John Lewis took part in a voting rights protest over Selma bridge where he was brutally beaten by the police to the point that his skull fractured.
Later that year, the Voting Rights Act became law, which gave equal voting rights to all regardless of race.
In 1981, John Lewis was elected to Atlanta's City Council. Five years later, he was elected to Congress, in which he remained until his death.
While he was a Democrat, he was respected by politicians from both major parties (with exceptions being Donald Trump, who doesn't respect anyone who doesn't kiss his ass).
Lewis was also a major inspiration to the modern-day activists to which he says "make good trouble".
learn more at
Rep. John Lewis, iconic civil rights leader, dies at 80 | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
John Lewis Was an American Hero Who Battled State Racism – Reason.com
John Lewis, Hero of Liberty | Cato Institute
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Herman Cain
I did note his death on the blog post "This blog is to document my thoughts as I'm living, not when I'm dead" due to the strange circumstance of his Twitter page being used to comment on events after he died, and even more bizarre, doubting the seriousness of the coronavirus from which he died.
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-blog-is-to-document-my-thoughts-as.html
Herman Cain was an entrepreneur known mostly for his time as a CEO of Godfather Pizza.
Back in 2012, he did run for president, attempting to get the Republican nomination to run against Barack Obama. It would've been interesting to see 2 African-Americans from the 2 major parties competing in the general election.
I did like Cain's idea of the "9-9-9 tax plan" as well as his idea that we should make all laws to being only 3 pages long. I commented on that issue from this blog post from 2012.
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/06/your-senator-doesnt-want-to-read-bill.html
However, his presidential campaign did get cut short when sexual harassment allegations became public. He decided to pull back to protect his family from more news coverage of those scandals.
Fast-forward to 2020, he was known for attending Trump rallies without wearing a protective mask during the coronavirus crisis. That decision cost him his life as he passed away from the virus just weeks after attending the rally in Tulsa.
Little Richard
Little Richard was one of the early kings of rock & roll. While that genre is commonly associated with the electric guitar, Little Richard's instrument was the piano. While the piano is usually associated with someone sitting down, Little Richard will play it not just standing up but jumping around with great energy and excitement.
As he got older, he transitioned to mostly playing gospel music, but his legend as a pioneer of rock & roll was already cast in stone!
His popularity came around the same time as the civil rights movement. Though he wasn't part of the marches, his popularity did scare white supremacists angry that some European-American girls were partying to his music.
He was also unashamed of some of his feminine traits, which scared those who demand that all males conform to hyper-masculinity.
Homophobic rapper Lord Jamar claimed that white record executives made Little Richard less masculine implying that it was because white America wasn't ready for a masculine black superstar. While I doubt America at the time was ready for someone like DMX or 50 Cent, I don't think Little Richard needed to be told to be less masculine, he was who he was whether anybody liked it or not. After all, he did start his career in playing in drag shows and gay bars!
learn more about Little Richard's legacy at
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/05/09/breaking-news/little-richard-rock-n-roll-pioneer-dies-at-87/
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Chadwick Boseman
One of the greatest actors of his era! He was known for portraying prominent African-Americans in biopics about James Brown, Thurgood Marshall, and Jackie Robinson. But it was the fictional character of Marvel's "Black Panther" that made him an international superstar.
Whereas there has long been concern about stereotypical roles being given to African-American actors, Boseman has been blessed to play dignified roles to widespread acclaim.
Even while making all those movies, Boseman has been privately been dealing with cancer. His cancer diagnosis wasn't public until his death in August.
learn more at: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/08/28/features/black-panther-star-chadwick-boseman-dies-of-cancer-at-43/
John Thompson
John Thompson was the coach of Georgetown University's men's basketball team. He was the first African-American coach to lead his team to an NCAA championship back in 1984.
He coached future NBA players like Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo & Allen Iverson.
His team's merchandise became a part of hip-hop culture, with people wearing them even far away from the university's campus in Washington DC!
While he lobbied the university to allow for players who don't meet the school's admission standards, he did demand that his players take academics seriously. He would tell them "“Don’t let eight pounds of air be the sum total of your existence”
He was also unafraid to confront drug dealers who had contact with his players. This was during the crack era when gang violence was at its peak.
Learn more about the incident at
and learn more about Thompson's legacy at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-thompson-death-georgetown-coach/2020/08/31/cd8f4846-eb69-11ea-ab4e-581edb849379_story.html
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Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona was the futbol (soccer) legend from Argentina, bringing World Cup championships to his country in 1986.
That championship came partially due to "The Hand of God" when his hand touched the ball before it scored to goal against England. This was a few years after Argentina went to war over the nearby British territory, the Falkland Islands. The British won that war! So the game came with the hype similar to the USA vs Soviet Union rivalry in the Olympic games during the Cold War.
For a short, stocky guy, Maradona could make move with the balls you wouldn't expect from a guy with his built.
However, his built came with problems later in life as he gained a lot of weight. He also had a drug addiction for which he was expelled from his last World Cup in 1994.
He did coach Argentina's team for the 2010 World Cup.
This year, Maradona died from a heart attack. He had tributes from all over the world, though there was a protest against one of them due to his past domestic abuse allegations.
Learn more about Maradona's legacy at
https://www.espn.com/soccer/argentina-arg/story/4244900/argentina-legend-maradona-dies-at-60
Dave Zirin on the political side of Diego Maradona
https://www.edgeofsports.com/2020-11-25-1575/index.html
https://www.edgeofsports.com/2020-11-30-1576/index.html
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Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek was the host of the popular TV game show "Jeopardy".
The show was unique in that the contestants had to answer in the form of a question. Also, the tune that was played while the contestants were thinking of their answer was classic.
Trebek also hosted the National Geographic Bee
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/5/130522-national-geography-bee-alex-trebek-2013-jeopardy/
(note: I won my elementary school's Geography Bee but couldn't go beyond state's. It would've been interesting to meet Trebek at nationals)
For all the talk about "TV is making our kids dumber", it was wonderful to see shows like Jeopardy that make intellectual knowledge fun.
Trebek was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, but he still kept his "Jeopardy" gig until the very end, when he passed away in November. He was 80 years old.
Learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/entertainment/alex-trebek-jeopardy-host-death-trnd/index.html
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Florian Schneider
Florian Schnedier may not be a household name, but his group Kraftwerk had a gigantic impact on the music we listen to today.
Kraftwerk started in Germany in the 1970s and was one of the pioneers of electronic music. Their music was a preview of what was possible in the world of sound.
Their music was sampled by many hip-hop artists (most famously by Afrika Bambataa's "Planet Rock") and influenced a long list of genres and sub-genres including (but nowhere limited to) techno, EDM, new wave, industrial metal, house, trance, ambient, dubstep, and much much more.
While his music created and influenced a lot of celebrities, Schnedier preferred to remain behind the scenes.
He died in March at the age of 73.
Learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/06/world/florian-schneider-kraftwerk-music-intl/index.html
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Sean Connery
The Scottish actor was famous for his role in the early James Bond movies.
But there was much more to his career. He was also part of the "Indiana Jones" series, played King Richard in the "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and was a Russian submarine commander in the "Hunt for Red October".
In most of his roles, he was the fearless, ruthless character with a special appeal for the ladies. He was even named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine when he was age 59. (note to my 40-year-old self: you still got time)
Connery was 90 years old when he died on Halloween.
learn more at https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/10/31/breaking-news/sean-connery-the-original-james-bond-dies-at-90/
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David Dinkins
Dinkins was the first African-American mayor of New York City. His term was from 1990-1993.
He was known as a calming presence n a city that had a reputation of high crime and lots of racial tensions. The Crown Heights riots occurred in 1991 after crowds reacted to a Jewish driver who ran over & killed an African-American child. It took a while to get the riots under control.
It was this issue that helped Rudy Giuliani defeat Dinkin's attempt at re-election in 1993, paving the way for Giuliani to be the city's first Republican mayor in decades.
Despite the publicity of the riots, the overall crime rate of the city was already declining near the end of the Dinkins term, but the general public wasn't interested in hearing any of that. People only tend to believe crime is declining only after it happened for several years straight. By then, Giuliani was in office long enough to receive all the credit for what started under Dinkins.
learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/24/us/david-dinkins-new-york-city-mayor-dies/index.html
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Andre Harrell
Andre Harrell was a record label executive, best known for his time at Uptown Records, a record label that specialized in R&B and hip-hop. The label was at its peak in the early 90s with Heavy D, Father MC, Soul for Real, Mary J Blige and Jodeci. Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy aka Diddy) was an intern before starting Bad Boy Records.
Harrell was later an executive for Motown Records.
Before being an executive, Harrell was part of a rap group Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, which was one of the earliest rap groups to perform in business suits, something that was later copied by artists on Uptown & Bad Boy.
learn more at https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9374701/andre-harrell-dead-uptown-records-59
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Ganxsta Ridd
Ganxsta Ridd was a member of the Boo-Ya TRIBE, a Samoan gangsta rap group from California. They were one of the earliest Polynesian rappers to get some level of fame in the world of hip-hop.
Like the Roots, the Boo-Ya TRIBE played their own instruments, mostly making funk and rock tracks.
The Boo-Ya TRIBE collaborated with many artists including but not limited to Ice-T, B-Real, Eminem, Layzie Bone, Lady of Rage, Mack 10, and W.C. They also had some rap-rock collabos with Faith No More, Transplants, as made their own rap-metal songs in the album "The Angry Samoans".
