With the back-t0-back-to-back deaths of legendary actor James Earl Jones, music icon Frankie Beverly and most recently Tito Jackson—Black folks all over the country and the world are in collective mourning.
As The Root has reported, Jones died Sep. 9, Beverly on Sept. 10 and Jackson on Monday, Sep. 15. — making this particular September the exact opposite of the idyllic one that Earth, Wind and Fire made a song about in 1978.
In fact, the realization that our culture has lost not one, not two, but three cultural giants that left an indelible mark in the cannon of Black film and Black music is one that honestly makes us want to savor whatever “happy feelins’” we have left lest they be snatched away.
While the argument can be made that losing those we love is just par for the course in this thing called life, the oscillation between “joy and pain” within the last week alone is arguably too much for even the average person to bear. But you don’t have to take our word for it, just one glimpse of what folks are saying on X/Twitter and you’ll see exactly what we’re talking about.
“Tito Jackson is gone now??? We aren’t even a week into grieving Frankie Beverly & James Earl Jones. The African American community needs a BREAK,” wrote one user.
“Ain’t no motherf***in’ way we lose James Earl Jones & Frankie Beverly within days of each other... Approaching 50 is destroying my Gen x formative years as so many of my heroes are passing away,” said another.
“James Earl Jones and Franky Beverly are blackness personified, and in their transition, we’ve lost greatness and poise that we may never see the likes of again. But god damn, did they make a mark on this world, and their work will be shared and handed down throughout time. They may have passed, but their memory will never die, always remembered, never forgotten. RIP MY N****S,” another said.
“Frankie Beverly, James Earl Jones, Tito Jackson. Three incomparable Black men who shaped our culture and whose legacies touched generations of Americans & people all over the world. Thank you for sharing your gifts. Your work here is done!” said Senator Raphael Warnock in a post X/Twitter.
“First James Earl Jones. Then Frankie Beverly. Now Tito Jackson????????? SEPTEMBER IS ONLY 15 DAYS IN AND IT CAN GOOOOOOOOOOO,” said another.
Really, this is all just too much and if we all band together, maybe we can petition for us all to just take a few days to just gather ourselves and our emotions as a collective. If not, then at the very least, we ought to find some time to watch our favorite James Earl Jones performance and listen to our favorite Jackson 5 and Frankie Beverly and Maze songs.
While these legends were no doubt given their flowers while they were alive, it won’t hurt to sprinkle more virtual petals now that they’re gone.