Strumming My Pain: Roberta Flack's Legacy of Paying It Forward

I just want to say that my favorite voice and my favorite singer of all time is Donny Hathaway. My love for his voice is what introduced me to his collaborator, Roberta Flack. An amazing pianist, songwriter, singer, activist, and overall beautiful soul, I learned so much about Roberta during the American Masters documentary and her passing prompted me to comb through her discography with a fine-tooth comb. She was an amazing person whose light will shine until the end of time. The trials that she endured to make her voice heard, get the credit she deserved have not gone unnoticed and unappreciated. And the most important part is that she kept nothing to herself, many people proclaim and uphold the notion that she paid it forward every step of the way.

When I discovered the video of her singing on stage with Lauryn Hill whose group Fugees brought the song Roberta made famous, Killing Me Softly to a new generation of listeners, my heart was filled with joy. And it was the same joy I felt a week later when I saw Lauryn Hill bring out the dynamically talented Doechii on stage to help perform Lauryn’s hit song, Doo Wop (That Thing). Paying it forward. Leading the next generation of artists to the front of the line to express themselves and make timeless art.

From the music industry, to sports, to even journalism. The idea of passing the torch seems to scare the elders or the proclaimed “OG’s”. Those deemed the top of the line and sit atop the greatest of all time lists being created daily. They talk down on their peers and comrades when they should be confident in their legacy and realize that their work lasts forever. It is okay for others to share the same light that shone on others and that concept seems to be a rare notion these days. I just do not get it.

Black Women especially should be the first to be bridges for other Black Women. We should be rooting the loudest and cheering the hardest for each other because no one walking this earth has experienced what we experience. I work hard at making sure the younger women in my life see an example of what they can achieve and that I am making the older Black women in my life proud to be a bridge to me! That is something I will forever be MOST proud of as a Black woman living in America. But it starts with each of us.

Black women be a bridge where there is none and be formidable. Be confident in your abilities. There is no point in building the table if we are the only one sitting there. Make space for those who need your light, your guidance, your expertise, and your story. Be visible and be unapologetic and encourage every Black woman in your life to do the same. Speak to those around you who need it, EVERY time they need it. Our existence depends on it.