Jacqueline Avant, wife of music legend Clarence Avant, fatally shot in Beverly Hills home

Celebrities and dignitaries came out in droves to offer their condolences today after Jacqueline "Jackie" Avant, a Los Angeles philanthropist and the wife of former Motown boss Clarence Avant, was shot and killed in an apparent home invasion early Wednesday morning. 

Jackie Avant was a wonderful woman, a great partner to Clarence and mother to Alex and Nicole, an active citizen & a dear friend to Hillary and me for 30 years. She inspired admiration, respect & affection in everyone who knew her. We are heartbroken. She will be deeply missed.

— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) December 1, 2021

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According to reporting by TMZ which broke the story initially, Avant, 81, was shot when at least one intruder broke into the Trousdale Estates home she shared with her husband and targeted her. Clarence, 90, was also home but not injured in the melee.

The Beverly Hills Police Department released a statement saying that its communications center received a phone call shortly before 2:30 a.m. regarding a shooting that had just occurred on the 1100 block of Maytor Place. Police units arrived and discovered a victim with a gunshot wound. The suspect or suspects were no longer on the scene. Beverly Hills Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital where she was declared dead.

Media Release: Beverly Hills Police are Conducting a Homicide Investigation pic.twitter.com/GjYJTxkAT1

— Beverly Hills Police (@BeverlyHillsPD) December 1, 2021

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon Beverly Hills Police Chief, Mark Stainbrook, revealed that she was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where she later died and said it was too soon to classify the incident as a home invasion or a follow-home robbery.

“The motives in this case are still unknown, and we’re investigating all possible motives,” Stainbrook said. “We will not speculate on anything that’s out there, including if this was a robbery attempt or not.”

He did confirm that Clarence Avant and a security guard were home at the time of the shooting and that no one else was injured but offered little new information on the case.

Avant was known for her decades of support of charitable causes in the area, particularly her support of the UCLA International Student Center. She was a former president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group for the South Central Community Child Care Center, and entertainment chairman of the NOW benefit auction.

Her husband is widely regarded as the “Godfather of Black Music” for helping launch the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many other notables in the music industry, as well as the friendship and guidance he offered for athletic icons like Muhammad Ali and Hank Aaron.

In 2019 Netflix released a documentary about his exploits and impact on the music scene called "The Black Godfather."

Lee Elder, who broke the race barrier at the Masters, dies at 87

Photo Courtesy Lee Elder Foundation — November 2020: Lee Elder being honored at the 2020 Masters Tournament

Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, is dead at the age of 87.

The PGA Tour announced his passing on its official Twitter Monday, noting that this past April he was honored for his accomplishments at Augusta National, and his legacy will surely live on.

No official cause of death was listed, but Elder had been reportedly in poor health in recent years. During his appearance at the Masters in April he wore a visible oxygen tube. The Tour said he died early Sunday in Escondido, California.

Lee Elder has passed away at the age of 87.

In 1975, he made history as the first African American to compete in the Masters Tournament.

Lee was honored this past April at Augusta National and his legacy will surely live on. pic.twitter.com/1o05rephKt

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 29, 2021

His contemporary, and one of the greatest golfers to ever walk the greens, Jack Nicklaus responded to the death on Twitter writing, "Lee was a good player, but most important, a good man who was very well respected by countless people. The game of golf lost a hero in Lee Elder.''

Lee was a good player, but most important, a good man who was very well respected by countless people. The game of golf lost a hero in Lee Elder. Barbara and I send our heartfelt condolences to Lee’s wife Sharon and their entire family.

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) November 29, 2021

A native Texan, Elder did not play a full round of 18 holes until he was 16 and learned the game while caddying when most courses were segregated. Following his history-making turn at the formerly all-white Masters, which he qualified for by winning the Monsanto Open, he notched three more career PGA wins. In 1979 he became the first African American to qualify for play in the Ryder Cup.

Rihanna Named National Hero in Barbados as Country Becomes Republic

Nine-time Grammy winner and Fenty Beauty billionaire Rihanna was honored by her home country of Barbados on Monday, the same day the island nation shed its colonial allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and declared itself a republic.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, but an even prouder people, we therefore present to you the designee for national hero of Barbados, Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced at a ceremony celebrating Barbados' presidential inauguration and marking its first day as a republic. “May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation by your words, by your actions, and to do credit wherever you shall go. God bless you, my dear.”

The 33-year-old, who has had the honorary title of Ambassador for Culture and Youth in Barbados since 2018 and was first named one of the Caribbean island country's cultural ambassadors in 2008 — doing promotional work for its tourism ministry — said it was a day she would never forget and never saw coming.

"I have traveled the world and received several awards and recognitions, but nothing, nothing compares to being recognized in the soil that you grew in," she said.

Rihanna, who was born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown where the ceremony took place, before moving to the United States after she was discovered by music producer Evan Rogers, is the 11th person to receive the honor. It had been 20 years since it was last conferred.

The announcement was a high-point of the festivities surrounding Barbados formally cutting ties with the British monarchy after nearly 400 years.

Watch Rihanna's entire speech below: