Since the sad and untimely death of Whitney Houston, many people have chimed in to speak of her talent, of the brilliance of her singing, of the influence she had on popular music.
But they all seem to have missed something more fundamental — the unique role she played in knocking down the color barrier. Yes, there were many beautiful and acclaimed black women entertainers before her in American history, transformative figures like Josephine Baker, Diahann Carroll, Dorothy Dandridge, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday, Lena Horne, Nina Simone and Tina Turner.
But Whitney Houston did something no black woman in America before her had managed to do. When her first album and MTV videos burst upon the scene in 1985, she not only became the first female musician in history to debut at the top of the charts, she became something far more transformational.
Whitney Houston was the first black American woman that white males did not even think of in racial terms — they were too caught up in being in love with her. Just about every guy in America had a crush on her, and I’m sure most would have married her in a heartbeat if they’d been given the chance.
There are many measures by which one can measure our unsteady rise toward civilization. Surely this was one of the sweetest.
Totally agree about Whitney’s beauty and talent and how sad it is that she died so young!
I’m not sure what it says about our civilization though if every guy would have married her purely on the basis of her beauty and voice. Oh…maybe you were exaggerating 😉
I was indeed engaging in a bit of hyperbole. Still, it might be a good idea for a guy to marry a gal with a voice he finds pleasing. It increases the odds that he will actually listen to what she says to him. 🙂