Author: MSN news

Thelma Mothershed Wair, the iconic member of the Little Rock Nine who helped integrate an Arkansas high school in 1957 despite opposition from white protesters, has died at the age of 83. Mothershed Wair was born on Nov. 29, 1940, in Bloomberg, Texas. Her sister, Grace Davis, confirmed that she died at a Little Rock hospital Sunday due to complications from multiple sclerosis, The Associated Press and KARK reported. Mothershed Wair was the eldest of the Little Rock Nine. She and eight other students — Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls — integrated Central High…

Read More

Wallace “Wally” Amos, Jr., founder of the “Famous Amos” cookies known and beloved nationwide, died at 88 on Wednesday, his family said. The American entrepreneur died peacefully at his home with his wife Carol by his side after a battle with dementia, Amos’ children, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn, said in a statement. Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Amos built his brand from one bakery in 1975 in Hollywood, California, and a family recipe. “Our dad inspired a generation of entrepreneurs,” his children said, adding, “With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story,…

Read More

U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has died. She was 74. via Fox 26: Jackson Lee, who has represented Texas’ 18th Congressional District for nearly three decades, revealed her battle with pancreatic cancer in June. The Queens, New York native and daughter of a comic book artist attended Yale University and the University of Virginia where she obtained her law degree. While she was in college, she met the man who would become her husband, Elwyn Lee, in 1973. He took a job at the University of Houston as a law professor and that led the New Yorkers to travel to Houston.…

Read More