I was fortunate enough to hear Aretha Franklin sing at Barack Obama’s inauguration on a crazy cold day in January, 2009. Listening to it now made me cry again just like it did then. . Much has changed in our country since then and her passing today is somehow an appropriate marker of where we are today. I can’t quite explain it but I feel it. . One last thought: Beyoncé is pretty okay but Aretha is the motherfucking Queen! . #R-E-S-P-E-C-T

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