Recommendation: I saw the black bar but this post was already fairly far down the page, maybe make clicking on the bar take you to the post that precipitated it.
I have a second recommendation: Since Nancy Grace Roman has also died, it's not clear whom the bar is for. Possibly for both? It would be nice if there was a way to find out. Maybe something in the footer, or as you say, by making something clickable.
I have this problem with flags at half-mast in my town, also. It's at half-mast quite often, but people seldom know why.
Recommendation: I saw the black bar but this post was already fairly far down the page, maybe make clicking on the bar take you to the post that precipitated it.