We’re already saying goodbye to some of our favorite artists, innovators, and cultural changemakers of 2026. Each of these souls shaped our history and heritage, leaving an impression that will endure for generations to come. Their legacies will live on through those who knew them personally and professionally. Continue reading to learn more about who we’ve lost thus far.
Shirley Raines
A social media creator who made a difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness, Shirley Raines founded Beauty 2 The Streetz, a nonprofit organization that provided food distribution, hygiene services, and emotional support and care to people living on Skid Row in Los Angeles and in other parts of California, as well as Nevada. Known as “Ms. Shirley,” she used digital platforms to raise awareness of her work, shed light on the plight of homelessness, and advocate for care and compassion. She had more than 5 million TikTok followers who saw the light and humanity she brought to those in need.
In 2021, CNN recognized Raines as its Hero of the Year. Raines’ passion to help others was personal, as she, too, experienced personal loss and trauma. One of her six children died as a toddler, which left her in a dark place that could have ended in tragedy. Raines passed away at age 58 on January 28, 2026.
Claudette Colvin
Before Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin , who at just 15 years of age, was the first person arrested for refusing to surrender her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Born on September 5, 1939, Colvin grew up in what biographer Phillip Hoose called “three unpaved streets lined with red shotgun shacks and outdoor toilets.”
Colvin was raised by her great‑aunt Mary Jane and great‑uncle Q.P. Smith. She was surrounded by books and, as a young girl, would read the works of Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare obsessively. In school, she learned about the 14th Amendment and wrote a paper detailing segregation in her hometown. Of her courageous refusal to move from her seat on that fateful day, she later stated that she felt Harriet Tubman pressing on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth on the other, helping to make her refusal to move seem fated. Colvin passed away at age 86 on January 13.
John Forté
John Forté was a powerful force in the creative direction of one of the most influential hip-hop records of the nineties. He was part of the musical collective Refugee Camp All-Stars and was a critical to the writing and production of The Score, the Fugees’ landmark 1996 album, which received critical acclaim and earned Forté a GRAMMY Award nomination. His collaborations included “We Trying to Stay Alive” with Wyclef Jean and the triple collab of “Rumble in the Jungle” with the Fugees, A Tribe Called Quest and Busta Rhymes.
In 1998, he released his debut studio album, Poly Sci. His life was not without personal challenges: in 2000, he was arrested on drug charges. Initially sentenced to spend 14 years in prison, he was commuted by President George W. Bush in 2008. Many of his collaborators became his allies and spoke out on his behalf during these trying times. He would go on to score music for the Sundance Film Festival in 2012, participate in a musical tour across Russia, and write the 2012 Brooklyn Nets anthem. His final album, Vessels, Angels & Ancestors, was released in 2021. Forté passed away at his home in Massachusetts on January 12. He was 50.
T.K. Carter
From his roller-skating cook in John Carpenter’s cult classic The Thing (1982) to more dramatic roles, T.K. Carter brought both light and depth to his many characters. Starting his career as a child, he would go on to play a variety of roles over five decades. Carter appeared on the sitcoms Punky Brewster, The Sinbad Show and more in the nineties.
He received critical acclaim for his work on the 2000 HBO miniseries The Corner, in which he played drug-addicted Gary McCullough. Of his nuanced performance, the Boston Globe wrote, “Carter perfectly captures the gentleness and passivity that can be addiction’s easiest conquest.” The actor’s movie resume is also extensive, including films such as Corvette Summer, Southern Comfort, Doctor Detroit, Space Jam and more. He starred as patriarch Herbert “Pops” Brown in the 2018 BET miniseries The Bobby Brown Story. Carter passed away at age 69 in his home in Duarte, California, on January 9.