Civil Rights Musician Bernice Johnson Reagon Dead at 81
July 18, 2024
Musician and civil rights activist Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon has died. She used her alto voice and carefully penned lyrics to bring attention to the racism and injustices of the Jim Crow era. Reagon was a founding member of the Freedom Singers, a group of students who performed to raise money for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. In 1973, she formed a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock. Bernice Johnson Reagon was 81 years old.