Black History Month-
As February closes, I wanted to dedicate a blog to Black History month. The contributions in every industry from science to art, have been graciously gifted by our black brothers and sisters. Sometimes against great odds. Sometimes the contributions look like a miracle that they saw the light of day. One area that has blessed my life is music and the joy that has been shared in musical genius. Last week’s song (in case you didn’t catch it) was written by Lionel Ritchie. I selected for this blog, another music man who lit up a generation with songs and dancing.
James Brown was born into extreme poverty, was abandoned by his mother before sixth grade, lived much of his childhood in his aunt’s brothel, and when he was 16, was sent to a juvenile detention center for stealing a three-piece suit from a car.
Doesn’t sound much like a miraculous life. But if it wasn’t for the detention center, the Godfather of Soul, the most sampled artist of all time, would have never met Bobby Byrd, who not only secured his early release from the detention center, but adopted him into his large family, invited him to sing lead for his R&B vocal group, and launched his career as one of the most influential musical artists of all time.
As Brown once said, “If I hadn’t stolen that suit, I’d have never found my “family”.
In this last week of the month, take some time to honor the magnificent gifts given to us throughout our History which is Black History. From Nelson Mandela to John Lewis – from Maya Angelou to Oprah Winfrey – From Dr. Martin Luther King to Dr. George Washington Carver….how many can you name?
And while you are doing that, jump for joy while listening to the Godfather of Soul.
