Black History

Celebrities pay tribute to Aretha Franklin

ROLLINGOUT.COM — Aretha Franklin was honored at a star-studded tribute concert.

Published

6 years ago

January 18, 2019

Oakland Post

By Rollingout.com

Aretha Franklin was honored at a star-studded tribute concert.

A hoard of A-list celebrities, including Alicia Keys and Celine Dion, took the stage to pay homage to the late Franklin — who died last year at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer — to relive the Queen of Soul’s biggest hits in a live tribute concert.

Certain family members, including her grandson who spoke at her funeral, attended the event, which was held in Los Angeles and hosted by filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry.

Jennifer Hudson, who will star in Franklin’s biopic, Respect, kicked off the tribute performing “Think” followed by Keys, 37, performing a duet of “Day Dreaming” with singer-songwriter SZA, who said she was “blessed” to be there.

Dion received a standing ovation for her rendition of “A Change is Gonna Come,” while Fantasia, Andra Day, Brandi Carlile and Alessia Cara came together to sing “Natural Woman.”

Common and Yolanda Adams performed “Young, Gifted and Black,” although the rapper inserted his own politically charged rap lyrics into the 1972 hit.

Smokey Robinson took a moment to remember the soul legend while on stage, adding: “She was a gifted songwriter, a fantastic musician and a great formidable activist. For me, she was my little sister who I loved so much. I still love her so much. But she’s gone home now to be with her father. I believe she has been reunited with her entire
immediate family.”

Other performers included Shirley Caesar, Kelly Clarkson, Chloe X Halle, H.E.R., John Legend and BeBe Winans.

The tribute was put on by the Recording Academy and music mogul Clive Davis, who insisted that “there will never ever be another Aretha Franklin.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the tribute concert was held Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, and taped for broadcast on CBS in March.

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

6 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.