Why Lionel Richie Was Denied the Chance to March With Martin Luther King Jr.
Legendary singer Lionel Richie is looking back on his upbringing and a time in his life where he wanted to be more civically engaged. The post Why Lionel Richie Was Denied the Chance to March With Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on The Root.
Black News 
Music legend Lionel Richie is reflecting on his life and career in his recently released memoir, “Truly.” In particular, he’s shedding light on his upbringing during the height of the civil rights era and how and why he wasn’t allowed to partake in it.
As we previously told you, Richie’s memoir takes a deep look at his Alabama roots, his rise to musical success and his rocky relationships along the way – include his high-profile divorce from his first wife, Brenda. But now, Richie is looking back on different era of his life during a new interview with The Guardian.
Speaking on how he grew up as the civil rights was gaining more and more momentum, Richie revealed that at the time that he had a strong desire to figure out what his role was in the movement. But he ran into one major roadblock: his parents.
“I was longing to be part of it. And my parents kept telling me it was dangerous,” Richie shared.
He continued: “I was angry, because I thought they had left me out of some of the most significant history. My anger came when I realized what my grandmother and grandfather had gone through, what my mom and dad had gone through.”
Later on, when he was a bit older, he confronted his parents about their decision and questioned why they prevented him from doing what he wanted.
“‘We didn’t want anything to limit you in your thinking of what the possibilities for your future could be,'” he said of their response. “‘And if we had attached you to our anger then you would be stuck in our anger.'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Richie mused on the current political landscape and explained that in 1983, he made a statement basically alluding to the fact that we as a community ought to be past conversations about civil rights.
“I made a statement in 1983 when we were talking about civil rights, and I said, ‘We still talk about that?,’ as if to say that’s behind us, we’re interested in the future,” he shared. “Now, here we are 42 years later and we’re still talking about the same thing. But it’s even worse. What I’m watching now is not only going backwards, but it is the erasing of history.”
He later added: “If you’re waiting for Martin Luther Richie, he ain’t coming. But if you’re waiting for Lionel Richie, the bearer of love, you got me.”
Richie concluded in part by saying that, back in the day, he had a positive view on politics and getting involved. But, after seeing the deaths of Malcolm X and King and how “not survivable” things were, he resolved to do his part through “an avenue that works well for me,” — or his music.
The post Why Lionel Richie Was Denied the Chance to March With Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on The Root.
