re·spect /rəˈspek(t)/ noun 1. a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements; 2. due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
J usticeAid’s Spring Benefit Concert and this month’s J+A are inspired by Aretha Franklin’s classic anthem “Respect.” We begin by referencing the pervasive lack of respect for womanhood—for their minds, their accomplishments, their desires, and evermore even the recognition of their very existence of women as unique, meaningful, and fully realized human beings. As you read about these incredible artists and their works, we invite you to reflect on the increasing degradation of respect across our society and national discourse, and how powerfully this endangers the very lives of women.
Music
“Respect,” recorded by Franklin at Atlantic Studios in New York City in 1967, remains relevant and impactful through the years. Other notable covers include versions by Ike and Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, and Jennifer Hudson, among others.
Aretha Franklin, Respect
In 1967, Aretha Franklin rearranged Otis Redding’s song “Respect,” shifting its message from a man asking for respect to a woman demanding the same from her man, and society writ large. The message—that everyone deserves to be heard—resonated with both mainstream and marginalized communities, and the song quickly became an anthem for the civil rights and women’s rights movements. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned Franklin two Grammy Awards in 1967. Rolling Stone magazine later named “Respect” the #1 song of all time. Read article from Vox.
“In Black neighborhoods and white universities, her hits came like cannonballs, blowing holes in the stylized bouffant and chiffon Motown sound, a strong new voice with a range that hit the heavens and a center of gravity that was very close to Earth.”
“Everybody wants and needs respect. It’s basic to mankind. Perhaps what people could not say, the record said it for them.”
And just in case men didn’t get it, she spelled it out for them:
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T—Find out what it means to me!”
Fine Art
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
The personal art collection of music icons and married couple, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean), is the subject of Giants, a groundbreaking exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum and touring the nation. Featuring nearly 100 works by contemporary Black artists, the collection is rooted in the ethos of ‘artists supporting artists,’ and the title Giants reflects both the legendary status of the featured artists and the monumental impact of their work.
When asked why so many of their works are large in scale, Beatz replied, “We collect giant artwork because it represents our culture in a giant way.”
Watch the couple in this curator’s talk and listen to the exhibition playlist featuring music by Marvin Gaye.
Pictured in the slider are works by Esther Mahlangu, Lorna Simpson, Nina Chanel Abney, and Ebony G. Patterson.
Fine Art
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
The personal art collection of music icons and married couple, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean), is the subject of Giants, a groundbreaking exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum and touring the nation. Featuring nearly 100 works by contemporary Black artists, the collection is rooted in the ethos of ‘artists supporting artists,’ and the title Giants reflects both the legendary status of the featured artists and the monumental impact of their work.
When asked why so many of their works are large in scale, Beatz replied, “We collect giant artwork because it represents our culture in a giant way.”
Watch the couple in this curator’s talk and listen to the exhibition playlist featuring music by Marvin Gaye.
Pictured in the slider are works by Esther Mahlangu, Lorna Simpson, Nina Chanel Abney, and Ebony G. Patterson.
Film
Personhood: Policing Pregnant Women in America
Personhood (2020) tells the story of Tammy Loertscher, a young mother who was forcibly detained while pregnant, denied her constitutional rights, and then forced to challenge a Wisconsin law that eroded her privacy, her right to due process, and her body sovereignty. The film pulls back the well trod rhetoric surrounding reproduction rights in America to focus on a growing movement that uses existing law to criminalize pregnant women in new ways. In this timely documentary, Tammy’s experience reveals the dangerous consequences of these little-known laws for American women and families. Directed by Jo Ardinger. Streaming on Fandango Home and Apple TV.
Featured Writing
I, Tina: My Life Story
Published in 1986 and co-written by music critic Kurt Loder, the best-selling autobiography surveys Turner’s life, from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, through the development of her passion for music and ascension to fame in St. Louis, Missouri. Much of her story is intertwined with that of Ike Turner, who was her mentor, lover, and later, her abuser, influencing her decision to take a hiatus from music until the 1980s, when she made a swift comeback. While Turner encourages women with similar experiences of exploitation and mistreatment to escape the grips of their abusers, her memoir is ultimately optimistic: The closing chapter celebrates the joy Turner found in music and as a solo artist, and the knowledge that her ability was always within her. Read more from this excerpted summary and about the 1993 film adaptation, What’s Love Got to Do with It.
