Black Ohio State Reps. Barnes and Patmon of Cleveland speak on Aretha Franklin as to Barnes' sexual assault- respect your date bill in Franklin's honor and Patmon's personal relationship with Franklin and her father, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin, an interview by Kathy Wray Coleman ....John Barnes' bill, titled the 'Respect Your Date Act,' has passed the Ohio House and is awaiting approval by the Ohio Senate, and Bill Patmon, a native of Detroit, said Aretha Franklin "was a queen and a commoner, and could associate with common folks and then sing for the president," and that her father marched with MLK and opened his church in Detroit to community activists during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, including to the Black Panther Party......By Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com
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| From left: Ohio State Representative John Barnes Jr. (D-12), a Cleveland Democrat, the late music legend Aretha Franklin, and Ohio State Representative Bill Patmon (D-10), a Detroit native and Cleveland Democrat |
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief
CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM-CLEVELAND, Ohio-Ohio state Reps. Bill Patmon (D-10) and John Barnes Jr (D-12) interviewed last week with Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com regarding the death on Aug. 16 of music legend Aretha Franklin.
A Black Cleveland Democrat like Patmon, Barnes discussed House Bill 240 [The Respect Your Date Act], a sexual assault bill which has passed the Ohio House and awaits approval by the Ohio Senate and Gov Kasich to become law, and Patmon, a Detroit, Michigan native who personally knew Franklin and her late father, the Rev C.L. Franklin, discussed his community relationship with the megastar.
"The Respect Your Date Act provides for a sexual assault awareness day annually, among other mandates, and it requires that colleges and universities give online tutorials on the crime of sexual assault to entering students." said Barnes. "Aretha Franklin set the tone for social, civil and women's rights, and it was fitting as to what the word respect meant in the context of the bill, and it is my intention to rename the bill the Aretha Franklin Respect Your Date Act."
A former city councilman, Patmon, 72, said that Aretha Franklin was a queen and a commoner, and that she could associate with common folks and then sing for the president.
"She was a very uncommon individual that had the common touch like her father, who was the lead pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit where my mother and aunt often frequented, and her father, who marched with Dr King, often opened up the church to activists for meetings during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, including to the Black Panther Party," added Patmon, who was reared in Detroit and moved to Cleveland in 1982.
She was 76-years-old at her death.
Her mother and father eventually separated and her mother died when she was 10-years-old.
After her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bevel Baptist Church in Detroit where her father preached.
Her father later became her manager and she landed her first major contract with Columbia Records, ultimately signing with a number of major labels during her seven-decades music career, including with Motown in Detroit.
One of the greatest voices of all time, Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy awards and sold more the 75 million records worldwide, and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is based in Cleveland, a largely Black major American city.
She recorded 112 charted Billboard singles, the most ever of any artist worldwide.
Her 1967 Grammy award winning single 'Respect' was released that year on Valentine's Day and skyrocketed to the top of the charts.
Women's rights group's quickly dubbed the hit the 'feminist national anthem' because of its empowering lyrics.
Franklin sang at the funeral of slain Civil Rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
In 2005, then president George W. Bush awarded Franklin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2009, she sang at the first inauguration of then president Barack Obama, America's first Black president.
A Black Cleveland Democrat like Patmon, Barnes discussed House Bill 240 [The Respect Your Date Act], a sexual assault bill which has passed the Ohio House and awaits approval by the Ohio Senate and Gov Kasich to become law, and Patmon, a Detroit, Michigan native who personally knew Franklin and her late father, the Rev C.L. Franklin, discussed his community relationship with the megastar.
"The Respect Your Date Act provides for a sexual assault awareness day annually, among other mandates, and it requires that colleges and universities give online tutorials on the crime of sexual assault to entering students." said Barnes. "Aretha Franklin set the tone for social, civil and women's rights, and it was fitting as to what the word respect meant in the context of the bill, and it is my intention to rename the bill the Aretha Franklin Respect Your Date Act."
A former city councilman, Patmon, 72, said that Aretha Franklin was a queen and a commoner, and that she could associate with common folks and then sing for the president.
"She was a very uncommon individual that had the common touch like her father, who was the lead pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit where my mother and aunt often frequented, and her father, who marched with Dr King, often opened up the church to activists for meetings during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, including to the Black Panther Party," added Patmon, who was reared in Detroit and moved to Cleveland in 1982.
The undisputed 'Queen of Soul' died in the Detroit area in hospice care following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was 76-years-old at her death.
Her funeral is set for Aug. 31 in Detroit.
Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee but moved with her family to Detroit when she was five-years-old. She had six step siblings, three from her mother, and three from her father, a womanizer.
After her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bevel Baptist Church in Detroit where her father preached.
Her father later became her manager and she landed her first major contract with Columbia Records, ultimately signing with a number of major labels during her seven-decades music career, including with Motown in Detroit.
One of the greatest voices of all time, Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy awards and sold more the 75 million records worldwide, and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is based in Cleveland, a largely Black major American city.
She recorded 112 charted Billboard singles, the most ever of any artist worldwide.
Her 1967 Grammy award winning single 'Respect' was released that year on Valentine's Day and skyrocketed to the top of the charts.
Women's rights group's quickly dubbed the hit the 'feminist national anthem' because of its empowering lyrics.
Franklin sang at the funeral of slain Civil Rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
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| Franklin singing at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama, America's first Black president |
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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