Betty Wright, Grammy Award-winning soul singer, dies at 66

Betty Wright, a Grammy Award-winning soul singer, has passed away at the age of 66.

The news of her passing was confirmed by the hitmaker’s niece, according to Heavy.com. Wright, whose music was celebrated for telling stories that were mature and about learning hard lessons, is best known for “Clean Up Woman,” “Tonight is the Night” and “No Pain, No Gain.”

While the cause of her death has yet to made public, singer Chaka Khan had posted to her social media roughly a week ago that Wright was “in need of all your prays.”

Calling all my #PrayWarriors | My beloved sister, Betty Wright @MsBettyWright, is now in need of all your prays.
“Que Sera, Sera | Whatever Will Be, Will Be”
In Jesus Name We Pray for Sister Betty
All My Love Chaka pic.twitter.com/krQcfWFl5r

— 🎼 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖐𝖆 𝕶𝖍𝖆𝖓 💜 (@ChakaKhan) May 2, 2020

READ MORE: Little Richard, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and music icon, dies at 87

Wright was born Bessie Regina Norris on December 21, 1953, in Miami. She began her career as a teenager.

The first of a string of Billboard-charting songs came at age 15 when “Girls Can’t Do What The Guys Do” broke into the Top 40 in 1968. She scored her first gold hit with “Clean Up Woman,” which reached the Top 10 in 1972, before her 18th birthday.

Betty Wright attends the GRAMMY U Conference at Gibson Guitar Showroom on April 7, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by John Parra/WireImage)

She continued with a run of R&B hits throughout the 1970s, including “Tonight is the Night,” “Let Me Be Your Love Maker,” and the Grammy-winning “Where is the Love,” a collaboration with KC and the Sunshine Band.

READ MORE: Andre Harrell, founder of Uptown Records, is dead at 59

After a dry spell through most of the 1980s, Wright closed out the decade with the hit single “No Pain, No Gain.” She remained active for the balance of her career, becoming one of the music industry’s most in-demand vocal coaches for stars like Jennifer Lopez and Angie Stone.

In 2012, she won another Grammy for her collaborative album with The Roots, Betty Wright: The Movie. She was a collaborator and mentor to many hip-hop acts, most from her native Florida, such as Rick Ross, DJ Khaled and Trick Daddy.

The post Betty Wright, Grammy Award-winning soul singer, dies at 66 appeared first on TheGrio.

from TheGrio https://ift.tt/3fCPfjl

Grieving on Mother’s Day: Celebrating all the moms in heaven

This piece isn’t for those who will spend Mother’s Day at least talking to their moms in the physical. Each and every year we get to celebrate our moms is a gift and a blessing from the Lord above, even if that celebration is a virtual one this year.

But for those, like me, who lost our moms, Mother’s Day will be a struggle. This is especially so for those who lost their mom after last year’s Mother’s Day and will experience their first one without them.

READ MORE: Tina Knowles partners with BeyGOOD for Mother’s Day COVID-19 relief efforts

With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting Black communities with ferocity, this will be the first Mother’s Day without mom for tens of thousands. This is for you. theGrio spoke to individuals who have experienced grieving the loss of a mom to share some tips for how to cope, as well as a mental health professional about the importance of utilizing those services.

An older black woman mournfully looks out her window (Photo: Adobe Stock)

Elena Romero, daughter of Aida Luz Romero, professor, journalist and mother of three, says talking about her mom to family and friends helps. “We comfort each other, smiling, laughing and even crying at moments,” Romero tells theGrio.

“The loss of a mom is an extremely difficult thing to process and deal with at any age or time,” Romero says. “There are really no words to fully capture the emotion or sense of loss one feels when it happens.”

Romero shares more advice about moving forward in the grieving process. “Allow yourself time to mourn,” she says. “That looks differently for different people. There is no specific timeframe that will make it alright. Surround yourself with love and above all, focus on the positive memories you shared. I also share memories of mom with my children. We often discuss ‘what would momma say or think?'”

To ensure the spirit of her mom lives on, Romero says she buried her mom close to my home to “allow myself the ability to visit her grave frequently (pre-COVID-19),” Romero shares. “I created and dedicated my garden in her honor. I planted hydrangeas and colorful flowers because she loved them so much. I placed a dedication stone to thank her. Spending time in my garden reminds me of her and provides me tranquility.”

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

Daniel Janey, son of Sue Janey and restaurant manager, shares that the firsts will be difficult. “The first holidays, birthdays, and special occasions are the hardest,” Janey tells theGrio.

“You just yearn to have your mom on special days like Mother’s Day. I choose to celebrate and remember my mother on this day rather than be sad and lonely. I have an urn with her ashes in it. This Mother’s Day I will ‘talk’ to her and thank her for being the best mom for 24 years of my life.”

READ MORE: Tika Sumpter and Thai Randolph launch Sugaberry, a lifestyle brand for moms

“I did not lose my mom yet to death but I have lost her mind to Alzheimer’s Disease,” says Maysa Akbar, daughter of Olga Namias and PhD, ABPP.

“She is currently in a nursing home, which was a very tough decision we made late last year. As a person of color, it is not a traditional route for managing an aging parent. We usually take care of our parents no matter the toll it takes on us and our family. I got a lot of backlash from my family about my decision.”

Dr. Anita Phillips, minister and therapist, and daughter of Mrs. Shirley Graham expressed the importance of professional mental health services.

“I believe every single human being should spend some time in the therapy room at some point in our lives,” Dr. Phillips tells theGrio. “Therapy isn’t for mentally ill people; therapy is for people! That being said, structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism pose unique threats to Black people’s mental health while simultaneously reducing access to mental health care that is financially attainable, geographically accessible, and culturally competent.”

This is my ninth Mother’s Day without my Mom in the physical and I remember Mother’s Day 2012. I ventured to Atlantic City, New Jersey, because it was a place where I spent time with my mom, and it was a place where I could be alone with my thoughts.

I cried a lot, but I also thought of the countless memories we shared, and it helped. For all of those suffering like me, I hope this piece not only finds you, but provides some measure of comfort on this painful day. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms in heaven, from Brenda Victoria Johnson‘s son Derrel.

The post Grieving on Mother’s Day: Celebrating all the moms in heaven appeared first on TheGrio.

from TheGrio https://ift.tt/35Naev6

Erykah Badu and Jill Scott Brought the Healing Vibes We Needed in Their Verzuz Battle

Incense was burning, Crown Royal was ready for the sipping, and even our forever First Lady Michelle Obama was tuning in for the Verzuz battle between Neo Soul queens Erykah Badu and Jill Scott last night on Instagram Live.

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/2YQMYes

Ahmaud Arbery footage of fatal shooting was leaked by a lawyer connected to the suspects

Video footage of the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery by two white men as he was jogging in a southeast Georgia neighborhood has widely circulated the web, leading to grief, outrage and the delayed arrest of the suspects.

While the incident happened in late February, the suspects were not arrested until after the footage was seen by the general public last week in a curious attempt by a criminal defense lawyer to clear the air about the men who targeted the then 25-year-old in the court of public opinion.

The lawyer is Alan Tucker, and he leaked the video of Travis McMichael, 34, and his father Gregory McMichael, 64, confronting Arbery, who was as attempting to run past a white truck, to WGIG, a local radio station in Brunswick, Ga. He obtained the footage from Roddie Bryan, the man who trailed Arbery and recorded the deadly episode on his cellphone, according to The New York Times.

READ MORE: Candace Owens argues Ahmaud Arbery shooting isn’t about race, draws outrage

Tucker had informally consulted the McMichaels on the issue prior to leaking the video, the report said. He told the paper that his intentions were to dispel rumors about the characters of the McMichaels.

“It wasn’t two men with a Confederate flag in the back of a truck going down the road and shooting a jogger in the back,” Mr. Tucker said.

“It got the truth out there as to what you could see,” he continued. “My purpose was not to exonerate them or convict them.”

READ MORE: Online pages emerge in support of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder suspects

Bryan had recorded the incident from his vehicle with a camera phone, revealing Arbery jogging down the road until he got to a white pick-up truck with the McMichaels inside. The video shows Arbery wrestling with Travis until three gunshots are heard. Within seconds, Arbery fell to his death as the three men watch. The 36-second video cuts off afterward.

The footage was captured by Bryan on Feb. 23. However, according to Bryan’s lawyer, Kevin Gough, he gave the video to the police prior to the leak and was cooperating with authorities. Bryan will also be investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, USA Today reports.

“Mr. Bryan has never tried to hide anything from anybody,” Gough stated. “If anybody wanted a copy of the video, he would give it to them.”

Arbery would have turned 26 on Friday. Many people have commemorated his tragic death by running 2.23 miles to represent the day that he died.

The post Ahmaud Arbery footage of fatal shooting was leaked by a lawyer connected to the suspects appeared first on TheGrio.

from TheGrio https://ift.tt/2YRiKYO

Black Civil Rights and Faith Leaders Pen Letter to Congress Calling for Immediate State and Local Aid

The National Action Network along with civil rights and faith leaders across the country have penned a letter to Congress calling for swift passage of state and local aid in the next stimulus bill.

The letter is signed by Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of the NAN, and 13 civil rights organizations and religious leaders.

The group sent the letter to Congress noting the government’s reluctance to help African American communities. The group says the lack of funds to these communities will do even more harm to the people in these areas that have been broken by the pandemic.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control, African-Americans constitute 20 percent of all U.S. coronavirus deaths,” the letter states. “Although we are only 12 percent of the U.S. population … The economic harm that communities of color will suffer, if the federal government fails to act, will also be devastating.”

The letter is signed by representatives from the Conference of National Black Churches, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., the Black Women’s Roundtable Human Rights
Public Policy Network, the National Urban League, and others.

The letter urges Congress to inject funds into the public sector, which “has been one of the nation’s most
dependable employers of African-Americans, lifting generations of black families into the middle class.”

Additionally, the group condemned Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for suggesting that states go bankrupt.

“When the Majority Leader of the United States Senate casually says we should let states go bankrupt or that he will not provide support for state and local governments without also providing a liability shield for corporations, that is a slap in the face to the hardworking public sector employees,” the letter states. “From nurses to corrections officers to school custodians – who are putting their lives on the line to keep their neighbors safe.”

The letter also cites a New York Times article from March that states that the coronavirus relief package in March included “a small change to tax policy [that] could hand $170 billion in tax savings to real estate tycoons.”

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant effect on African Americans. Unemployment among African Americans has more than doubled to 16.7%.

A Pew Research Center survey shows 48% of African Americans say they “cannot pay some bills or can only make partial payments on some of them in April.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3fDrCqA