Aretha Franklin
Some voices don’t ask for respect.
They assume it.
Aretha Franklin grew up in the church, surrounded by sermons and strategy meetings. Civil rights wasn’t an abstract idea. It was dinner-table conversation. Fundraisers. Real money moving where it needed to go.
She sang at rallies. Helped cover bail. Supported activists quietly and directly.
And then there’s that voice.
Big enough to shake walls.
When Aretha spelled out “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” it stopped being a lyric and turned into a demand.
Respect:
Think:
Young, Gifted and Black:
A Change Is Gonna Come:
Bridge Over Troubled Water:
This is an Open Thread
