ABSTRACT
Nick Salvatore—author of the biography of the great African-American preacher C.L. Franklin, Singing in a Strange Land, meditates here on Franklin’s singular contribution to American culture. Your editor came upon Salvatore’s piece right after Barack Obama went back to (the black) church during his Tucson speech as he brought good news about Gabby Giffords—”She opened her eyes! She opened her eyes! She opened her eyes!” (His little improvisation was reminiscent of Al Sharpton’s gospel triad at Michael Jackson’s funeral—”Michael never stopped! Michael never stopped! Michael never stopped!”) Salvatore gets C.L. Franklin’s rhetoric and comprehends the tradition that’s helped shaped Obama and so many great American singers.
