Attorney and legal analyst for TV, Midwin Charles, passed away this week at age 47. As news of her passing spread, an outpouring of love and gratitude for her brilliance, beauty and kindness flooded social media from a multitude of sources.

Founder of the legal firm Midwin Charles & Associates LLC, Charles was also a contributor to Essence Magazine. She offered her legal opinion and commentary on pop culture and politics on network TV, including programs on HLN, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, and TV One. She was the guest host for “Express Yourself” on New York’s WBLS radio and provided commentary for live trials, daily, on truTV. She lectured at Syracuse University and has written for Huffington Post.

Charles’ family announced the news of her passing the night of April 6 via a Twitter post that read, “It is with a profoundly heavy heart and the deepest sadness that we announce the untimely passing of our beloved Midwin Charles.”

The news was a shock to the many friends and associates she had, as well as people who were fans of her television appearances over the years.

People shared stories of how they first met Charles or came to know of her and enjoy her perspective on issues like current affairs, civil rights, immigration, and social justice.

Then, there was sympathy shared by others who either shared the TV screen with Charles or are public figures, themselves, who knew of her.

One of Charles’ close friends, also a TV commentator for MSNBC and a professor at Morgan State University, Dr. Jason Johnson, penned an emotional “obituary” for The Grio. He wrote fondly of his friend and her impact on the Black community.

“For many of us, Midwin was like Taraji P. Henson before Empire

, or Viola Davis before How to Get Away with Murder,” Johnson wrote. “She was Black famous, and we all just knew she was a step away from the opportunity that would give her all the flowers she deserved. She gave all of that love back, too.”