Aretha Franklin celebrated with prayers, music at all-star funeral
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Aretha Franklin’s funeral is underway in the Queen of Soul’s beloved Detroit, featuring prayers and music as pink Cadillacs filled the street outside a church where the guests include Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande.
While attendees found their seats at the Greater Grace Temple, the Aretha Franklin Orchestra performed a medley featuring I Say a Little Prayer, Angel and other songs Franklin was known for, along with gospel numbers I Love the Lord and Walk in the Light. Bishop T.D. Jakes was among those reading from the Bible and offering tributes to Franklin, who died Aug. 16 at age 76.
Rev. Al Sharpton recalled Franklin’s activist side, noting she raised money for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and created “the soundtrack of the civil rights movement.”
“She gave us pride. She gave us a regal bar to reach,” Sharpton said. “She represented the best in our community.”
Sharpton also took a swipe at President Donald Trump for saying that Franklin once worked for him.
“She performed for you,” Sharpton declared. “She worked for us… Aretha took orders from nobody but God.”
Pallbearers carry Franklin’s gold casket into Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Franklin’s body arrived early in the day in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse. She wore a shimmering gold dress, with sequined heels — the fourth outfit Franklin was clothed in during a week of events leading up to her funeral.
The casket was carried to the church that also took Franklin’s father, legendary minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks to their final resting places at Woodlawn Cemetery, where the singer will join them. The pink Cadillacs were a reference to a Franklin hit from the 1980s, Freeway of Love.
Program covers showed a young Franklin, with a slight smile and sunglasses perched on her nose, and the caption “A Celebration Fit For The Queen.” Large bouquets of pink, lavender and white flowers flanked her casket.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, consoles a family member as they pause at the casket of Aretha Franklin during her funeral service at Greater Grace Temple on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Floral arrangements from singers such as Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett and from the family of the late Otis Redding, whose Respect Franklin transformed and made her signature song, were set up in a hallway outside the sanctuary.
An arrangement from singer Sam Moore included a card that read, “You know I always adored and loved you to bits and pieces … Even when we would fuss.”
Franklin’s casket has been carried by the same classic 1940 LaSalle hearse that that also carried her father, prominent minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights icon Rosa Parks. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Funeral organizers insist it will be a service, not a show. Yet the Queen of Soul’s final sendoff has thus far encompassed many elements, emotions and grand entrances that were hallmarks of her more than six decades on sacred and secular stages.
Smokey Robinson blows a kiss to his childhood friend Aretha Franklin during the funeral service for the Queen of Soul on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
And it boasts a lineup of speakers and singers that would rival any of the hottest revues, past or present. Among those offering words were Bill Clinton, Jackson and Smokey Robinson, Franklin’s friend since childhood.
Music has been provided by Faith Hill, Grande, The Clark Sisters and Franklin’s son, Edward. Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Chaka Khan and more are still to come.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, greets Franklin fans gathered outside the New Bethel Baptist Church, the church once ministered by the singer’s father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, on Thursday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater Grace knows well of the boldface guest list and surrounding pomp and circumstance, but has a higher mission in mind for the service that may well exceed five hours.
“It is my goal and my aim to ensure that people leave here with some kind of spiritual awakening,” Ellis said.
This is not a concert, this is not a show, this is not an awards production. This is a real life that has been lived.– Bishop Charles Ellis III
“This is not a concert, this is not a show, this is not an awards production. This is a real life that has been lived, that a person regardless of how famous she became no matter how many people she touched around the world, she still could not escape death. And hopefully, a lot of people here with money and fame and influence and friends and notoriety and wealth, hopefully they will think of their mortality and say there is something bigger than fame, there is something bigger than Hollywood, something bigger than being a recording artist and selling gold albums or what have you.”
The late Queen of Soul continues to inspire new generations of singers, says Smokey Robinson. ‘There are some girls who haven’t been born yet … who will be inspired by Aretha.’ (Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)
Of course, some get-down and lift-up need not be mutually exclusive.
“I really believe that this … is going to be an eye-opening experience for everybody in the world watching,” said gospel artist Marvin Sapp, also among the scheduled performers.
Sapp would not reveal what he will perform Friday, but said every song was picked out by Franklin.
A mourner holds a copy of The Final Call newspaper featuring the late Aretha Franklin on the cover. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece, told the AP she started putting thoughts to paper about events earlier this year as her aunt’s health failed. Since Franklin’s death, Owens said a close group she described as “Aretha’s angels” have “worked tirelessly” and have been guided by a single question: “What would Aretha want?”
“After all she gave to the world, I felt we needed to give her an appropriate send-off that would match her legacy,” Owens said.
Article source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/chemical-weapons-watchdog-opcw-holds-emergency-conference-180626084237165.html
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