![]() ![]() He did everything in his power to encourage that ambition. “Daddy recognized our ambition as a psychological force we had inherited from him. It was also understood that our future as women-our education and our career-would not be compromised because of these early births,” she said. “It was understood that our babies would be welcomed into the world and cared for with limitless love. Aretha could skate up a storm.”Įrma also explained that, despite giving birth young, their parents did not see that as a reason for them to stop pursuing their professional dreams. The Arcadia is where she first ran into Donald Burk. After school, she’d fly over to the Arcadia, our local roller-skating rink. “She was an excellent student who did well in all her classes. “Aretha went right back to school after having Clarence,” said her older sister, Erma- a Grammy nominated singer who passed away in 2002-according Ritz's book. At the time, it was widely believed that the father of her child was a classmate named Donald Burk. She had four sons over the course of her life.Ĭiting another Franklin biography, Ritz wrote that Franklin’s pregnancy was “non-eventful” and that despite her young age, Aretha’s father and extended family in Detroit were supportive. With Aretha buzz in the air, here's what you should know about the lives of her children. “Just to know that there was another sister out there who went through some similar difficulties and persevered and she was tenacious.” “A lot of times as an African American woman, I feel in my struggles that I’m alone,” she said. Between 19, Franklin had sons Clarence, Edward, Teddy, and Kecalf, all of whom ultimately followed their mother into the music world in various forms.įranklin’s story is coming back into the public focus with a pair of projects-the Cynthia Erivo-led Genius: Aretha, which is streaming on Hulu, and the Jennifer Hudson-fronted biopic RESPECT, out on August 13.Īccording to Genius: Aretha showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks in an interview with Oprah Daily, part of the desired takeaway from the Nat Geo series is for viewers to be inspired by how Franklin weathered difficult situations in her life. When soul icon Aretha Franklin died in 2018, she left behind not only a mammoth catalog of hits, but four children. ![]()
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