Time and Place
After Aretha Franklin’s (The Queen of Soul) death, many people gathered together to remember her at her funeral. Reverend Jasper Williams Jr. was chosen by the Franklin family to eulogize Aretha. He spoke about the meaning of the “Queen of Soul” and how it was tied into African-American culture and music known as soul music. After speaking about Aretha, he spoke about the African-American community and households which made the eulogy very controversial.
After Rev. Williams spoke about Aretha, he said:
“70% of our households are led by our precious, proud, fine black women. But as proud, beautiful, and fine as our black women are, one thing a black woman cannot do: a black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man.”

He then talked about police killing African-Americans, and how the community responds with protests and marches but when 100 African-Americans are killed by people of the same race, no one says anything. He compares ripping an unborn baby out of the womb (abortion) to a black child growing up in a household that does not have a stable family.
I agree 100% to what Rev. Williams is saying. People need to be focused on police that kill people due to racism, but not out of self-protection. Although, communities need to focus more about the killing of their own family, friends, and neighbors. It goes unnoticed because it happens so frequently. Not many people think about all the violence and drugs in Chicago. Too many African-American children are growing up in an unstable household and are learning that drugs are lucrative and guns solve problems. The reason why there is such a problem with drugs, alcohol, and violence all over the country is because children are being raised by one parent who is absent from the home due to having to work multiple jobs and there is limited family support.
Rev. William has good points, but to say these things as part of the eulogy for Aretha Franklin was not a good idea. Many people were grieving the loss of the Queen of Soul and it should have been a time to reflect on all her accomplishments and her life. These things should have been said at a different time such as a Black Lives Matter event or even a community City Hall meeting. These facts needed to be brought to the attention of the American people but not through a eulogy for someone who influenced the world of soul music so much; there is a time and place for everything.