Going Back Home with Two Queens: A Look at Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace and Beyoncé Knowles’ Homecoming

Aretha Franklin in Amazing Grace

Two music documentaries were released within weeks of each other. Amazing Grace, never before seen footage of Aretha Franklin’s live recording session of the album of the same title and Homecoming, Beyoncé Knowles’ ode to the historically Black college and university (HBCU) experience. Homecoming broke the internet in typical Knowles fashion and one could surmise that had Amazing Grace been completed and released in 1972 as it was intended, Franklin would have done the same as the live album ended up being the highest selling gospel record in history. Both artists were at the pinnacle of their careers when they made the very bold decision to “go back home” to their musical and life influences - The African American church for Franklin and the historic African American Houston neighborhood, Third Ward, for Knowles.

Amazing Grace was recorded live at Rev. James Cleveland’s church in Watts, California. At the start of the film, the Southern California Community Choir slowly marches in, there are afro puffs, wide collars, and you can almost feel the sweat dripping from Franklin’s face as she sings songs like “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Precious Lord Take My Hand.”  

Rev. C.L. Franklin wiping the sweat from his daughter, Aretha Franklin’s, head

Halfway through the film, Franklin’s father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, talks to the congregation about his daughter -  not as the Queen of Soul, but as he knows her and knew her – a little girl singing in their living room and eventually in church. During his brief speech, he recalls the moment he found out that Franklin was doing the live recording session and he rushed to the cleaners with a couple of suits. While at the cleaners, a lady said that she wished Franklin would return to the church and he responded, “She’s never left.” Before Franklin made the album, Amazing Grace, she was known for her soul records like “Daydreaming” and Chain of Fools”. Singing secular music has been a tough decision for a lot of African American artists, especially those who got their start in the church. There was typically a lot of internal conflicts and social shunning because it was seen as making a choice between the world and God. However, Franklin never forgot where she came from.

The African American church has been a pillar in the Black community since slavery. I’m reminded of the time when I went to a reading by Nikki Giovanni and she said, “How you gone get from one day to the next and you don’t know spirituals?” The church wasn’t just about God. It gave African Americans hope when all we could do was pray. It was a place where movements were planned. It was a safe space when there was none. And it was a place where a lot of African American musical geniuses were birthed. So when people thought Franklin left the church, she surprised the world and brought them into her space - an African American sanctuary.

Every city has a side of town that primarily consists of African American residents and businesses. Third Ward is the African American epicenter of Houston, TX. Phylicia Rashad, when asked how realistic The Cosby Show was – referenced her hometown of Third Ward - where growing up around African American lawyers, doctors, and business owners was not out of the norm.

Beyoncé Knowles and Homecoming dancers

In the heart of Third Ward is HBCU, Texas Southern University (TSU). There was a time in American history when African Americans did not have a choice in where they went to college. HBCUs cultivated some of the greatest minds and like the Black church were safe havens for the Black community. African Americans from all over the United States attend HBCUs. They are a place where young minds are sowed into and Black culture abounds. In Homecoming, Knowles talks about rehearsing at TSU and visiting Prairie View A&M University as a child. She attended homecoming games and was captivated by the Battle of the Bands and steppers from sororities and fraternities. As she ascended the music charts and rose to superstardom, Knowles’ Blackness was questioned or completely overlooked. Although she’s a long way from Third Ward, much like Franklin, the experience never left her and heavily influenced her artistic choices. Knowles’ created her own homecoming experience - pulling out integral elements like the marching bands, dancers, and steppers.

Beyoncé Knowles Homecoming

Both of these women at the height of their careers chose to pay homage to African American culture, without the need to center the White gaze - they made music for us and by us. Franklin could have easily recorded the album in a studio, but she deliberately recorded and filmed in an African American church in Watts. Rev. Cleveland informed the audience that this was a worship service and a house of God, so they were free to do as they would on any Sunday of the month. Audience members caught the Holy Ghost and could even be heard screaming, “Sing, Girl!” In Homecoming, Knowles said she could have easily pulled out her flower crown for the Coachella performance, but she wanted every marginalized person to feel like they were with her on that stage. Knowles infused her top hits with HBCU marching band standards and her dance moves with steps from Black Greek life. She had the world swag surfin’ and brought us to our feet with the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.

After being violently separated and be displaced from family, religion, and culture - enslaved Africans in the United States were forced to synthesize the resources and knowledge they held and create something new. This cultural synthesis led to inventive ways of cooking and preparing food, new musical genres, livelier ways of worshipping God, dance moves, and more. Very rarely do we see our culture accurately portrayed in mainstream media or benefit from the commodification of African American culture. However, Franklin and Knowles created an unfiltered space where African American cultural contributions could be celebrated and honored. They gave us spaces where African American is a culture and not a trend.