Tributes are pouring in for Sadie Roberts-Joseph, a prominent African-American historian and civil rights activist whose body was discovered in the trunk of her car in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday. Authorities said Monday the cause of death was homicide by asphyxiation, though few other details are known.
Roberts-Joseph founded the Odell S. Williams Now and Then African American Museum and hosted Baton Rouge’s annual celebration of Juneteenth, which she fought to have recognized as a state and national holiday. She also founded a local nonprofit combating drugs and violence.
The NAACP of Baton Rouge wrote in a Facebook tribute, “We lost a Cultural Legend Yesterday! #RIP Sadie Roberts Joseph. From reviving Juneteenth, to the Culture preserved at Her Museum, she was a trendsetter and icon in this City.”