September 1, 2018
Yesterday’s homegoing service for our beloved Queen of Soul was a glorious celebration that was like the woman herself – regal and unapologetically Black, from the fleet of pink Cadillacs to the gold casket. Aretha Franklin was eulogized and celebrated by an array of luminaries who spoke, sang and preached about her singularity. You cannot divorce Aretha Franklin’s greatness from the context that created it – an otherworldly talent forged in the inextricably linked Black church and Black freedom struggle. It is not surprising that the daughter of legendary preacher and civil rights leader, Reverend C.L. Franklin, would leverage her gifts in service to Black people. The theme that speakers returned to again and again was that, despite Aretha’s once in a millennium talent, global fame and wealth, she never divorced herself from her community or her people. She remained in her native Detroit, a fiercely proud hometown girl. Speakers cited numerous examples of times when Aretha selflessly helped people in large ways and small – from arranging an 11 city tour with Harry Belafonte to bail Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference out of a financial emergency, to offering to post bond for Angela Davis, to performing a free, impromptu concert (complete with band and backup singers) at a senior citizens’ home.
Aretha selflessly shared her prodigious talent with the world and joyously shared the wealth she earned from that talent to advance the cause of civil rights. At a time when a cruel, small-minded man with absolutely no sense of honor or loyalty commands the bully pulpit, it pays to appreciate Aretha Franklin’s full legacy. At a time when that man, animated by petty grievances and grand hatreds, leverages his power to exact retribution and inflict harm on those who offend him by their actions or their mere existence, we would do well to remember Aretha’s example, which stands in rebuke to his toxic narcissism. Although the gift of her music would have been more than enough, Aretha showed us more. She showed us how not to leave people behind, no matter how high you may rise. Aretha showed us how to use your talents to leave your community and your world better than you found it. What rings out from Aretha’s voice and resonates in all of us, is the beauty of blackness, the power of love, and the demand for respect, for every human being. There will never be another Aretha Franklin, but her music, and her lessons, lives on. Long live the Queen!
#RESPECT
#QUEENOFSOUL
#VOTE