Franklin was ‘The People’s Diva’
Queen of Soul’s homegoing expected to be a celebration of African-American culture
DETROIT — Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, belonged to her God, her city, her community, and now, to the ages.
The cultural institutions she loved have been on full display in the celebration of her life leading up to her homegoing services Friday. More than two dozen ministers, performers both secular and gospel, along with black entertainers, athletes and civil rights activists make up a who’s who list of black America that will pay tribute to Franklin in a marathon service scheduled to last at least five hours.
Like Franklin, her ceremony will be undoubtedly and unapologetically black, said Detroit native and Georgetown University sociologist Michael Eric Dyson, who will speak at Franklin’s funeral.
“She was our voice for half a century,” Dyson said. “She gave expression to our desires — our spiritual desires, our political desires, our spiritual and sexual desires. … She was a full-service queen. She was The People’s Diva.”
Franklin died Aug. 16 of pancreatic cancer at age 76.
She was a constant and common denominator of black life. In her final role, the funeral will cap a week of tributes that have been not only a testament to her life and musical legacy, but a triumph of black culture.
“Everybody don’t do funerals like we do in the black church,” said gospel artist Marvin Sapp, among the performers Friday. “We don’t even call them funerals. We call them homegoing services, and we know how to send people home.”
The mix of pomp and circumstance with the everyday people Franklin knew and loved began Tuesday under the roof of The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, which long housed the world’s largest permanent exhibit of African-American culture. Franklin lay in repose at the museum for two days as thousands of Detroiters from all walks of life came to say goodbye.
The black church and gospel, both of which loomed large throughout Franklin’s life, have been heavily represented in her farewells. Her funeral will be held New Bethel Baptist Church, the Detroit headquarters of the civil rights movement, where her father preached from 1946 to 1979.
“She would have had it no other way,” said Bobby Jones, a pillar of the gospel community who currently hosts the “Bobby Jones Radio Show.”
Friday’s funeral services will have a jazz, mainstream and gospel section — appropriate because of her contribution to help popularize the genre, Jones said.
Franklin’s faith was wrapped up in the fight for civil rights, and she performed gospel and her other hit records to energize blacks living in segregation, and to raise money for the cause.
“That support was done in ways in which she didn’t seek credit; she just wanted to get the job done,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson, a Detroit native who will attend Friday’s funeral. “African-Americans feel disrespected now. When you think about her song ‘Respect,’ it’s as much of an anthem today as it was when she made it.”
Actress Cicely Tyson, a pioneering actress during segregation who also lent her talents to racial progress, and others will likely weigh in on her social justice work, including former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. William Barber.