Aretha’s Activism is Rooted In the Black Church
It has been said, referencing numerous souls, that earth’s loss when a soul transitions is heaven’s gain. This is absolutely true with respect to Aretha Franklin… our loss is heaven’s gain.
Reading the various Aretha Franklin tributes are a treat. There is so much that I have learned about Ms. Franklin. I had no clue that she was a parent at the age of twelve. I had no idea she was married to Glynn Turman aka Colonel Taylor — which is interesting considering that she sang the theme song to A Different World; I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something to do with that. I didn’t know Ms. Franklin was so petty; listening to these some of these interviews are eye opening and hilarious. I was pleased to learn that the Sparkle album was composed and produced by Curtis Mayfield. Lastly, I was pleased to learn that Ms. Franklin spurned Donald Trump’s request to perform at his inauguration.
What I did know however was Ms. Franklin’s connection to the Civil Rights Movement. She’s supported various participants in the movement in both word and deed. Although she is humble, her music provided the soundtrack for the civil rights, feminist, Black Lives Matter and #metoo movements. That soundtrack gave young women, young Black women in particular, the confidence to step out and assert their humanity. Aretha Franklin was a revolutionary; using the arts as the engine for her activism (her money as well). But it was her faith in Christ, I believe, that was the fuel for her engine.
Her story speaks to her Christian upbringing; not only impacted her as a singer, but it also impacting her view of the world as well as her passion for justice.
Jesus Christ came to enact justice on earth. I believe that he did just that. The role of the body of Christ is to help assert God’s Kingdom on earth.
This was the mission of folks like her father, Rev. C. L. Franklin, who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. When Dr. Martin Luther King challenged the military industrial complex when voicing his dissent with the Vietnam war, it was Aretha Franklin who toured with him to fundraise for his efforts. Speaking of Ms. Franklin and her financial contribution to the his work with Dr. King, Rev. Jesse Jackson said,
“When Dr. King was alive, several times she helped us make payroll… On one occasion, we took an 11-city tour with her as Aretha Franklin and Harry Belafonte… and they put gas in the vans. She did 11 concerts for free and hosted us at her home and did a fundraiser for my campaign.”
Ms. Franklin accepted an invitation to meet with the Black Panthers and participate in one of their programs. When Angela Davis was in jail, Aretha Franklin was ready, willing and able to bail her out; although her father disagreed — pointing to group solidarity as an impetus. Ms. Franklin said (in one of the most profound quotes I’ve ever read),
“…Angela Davis must go free. Black people will be free. I’ve been locked up (for disturbing the peace in Detroit) and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people. I have the money; I got it from Black people — they’ve made me financially able to have it — and I want to use it in ways that will help our people.”
Although Franklin’s father opposed the gesture, one need not look any further than to his example as part of the foundation of his daughter’s activism. Said of Rev. C.L. Franklin, he wasn’t considered a mainline preacher and although he was considered the real leader of the community, he wasn’t not accepted by the majority of Black preachers. Ms. Franklin said of her father, “Daddy had been preaching Black pride for decades and we as a people had rediscovered how beautiful black truly was and were echoing, ‘Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud.’”
Said Nick Salvatore, author of Rev. Franklin’s biography, “They abhorred his public style and denigrated his political status.” When Rev. Franklin was planning the Detroit March to Freedom in 1963, most of the community’s Black clergy disagreed with the march, saying it wasn’t a good idea. It took for Dr. King’s support to get folks on board. Rev. Franklin was a political activist in the Black radical tradition. He took to heart the message and mission of the Christ in Luke 4:18–19 and he lived it. This, I believe, was the theological foundation that fueled his activism… the same fuel he gave to his daughter.
Many folks try to posit Christianity as both the White man’s religion and a passive religion. Nothing could be more further from the truth. The roots of Christianity’s African beginnings and African American influences run deep. But also, the faith is very active. Thine kingdom come, thine will be done on earth as it is in heaven takes a recognition of being God’s imagers on earth (Gen 1:26), seeking the kingdom of God in all that we do (Matt 6:33) and being led by the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26, 1 Cor 2:13). I believe that Ms. Franklin’s activism is rooted in that. Our activism as believers on behalf of humanity should be rooted in that as well.
