Aretha Franklin Was Also a Victim of Child Sexual Abuse

[MineralMan]

That's not a big part of her public story, but she was made pregnant at age 12, and gave birth before she was 13. I was shocked to learn that today. I'm still processing that bit of information, actually. It's very disconcerting to me this morning.

Franklin was the mother of four sons. She first became pregnant at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father,[74] on January 28, 1955. According to the news site Inquisitr, "The father of the child was Donald Burk, a boy she knew from school."[75] On January 22, 1957, then aged 14, Franklin had a second child, named Edward after his father Edward Jordan.[20] Franklin did not like to discuss her early pregnancies with interviewers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Franklin#Personal_life

[tblue37]

1. I noticed that in the stories yesterday, too. It is truly upsetting. nt

[Blue_Tires]

2. But it makes her perseverance and success all the more impressive...

[MineralMan]

5. She certainly overcame it, but it is still a disturbing

thing, to say the least.

[Greybnk48]

3. Me too, MM. AND a second pregnancy at 14!

The news said she lived with her dad from 6 years old on. Mom was gone and died when Aretha was 10. Whose children were they? I had a sickening feeling it was a relative of hers, (like what happened to Oprah), or a friend of her father's.

No wonder she struggled with depression and alcohol. That kind of trauma is for life.

[MineralMan]

6. The Wikipedia link says it was a 14-year-old boy.

I have no reason to doubt that. Apparently the environment around her was highly sexually charged.

[demmiblue]

4. Before you added the Wikipedia link, I googled...

the article that had the most info was from The Daily Mail.

The main source they used was the same source used in that paragraph from Wikipedia.



Here is the NYT review of the book:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/books/review/respect-the-life-of-aretha-franklin-by-david-ritz.html

[erpowers]

7. Abused By Her Father?

Last edited Fri Aug 17, 2018, 07:00 PM - Edit history (2)

I realize that it is stated that a young man by the name of Donald Burke was the father of her first child, but is there any chance the real father of her child was her father? According to Wikipedia, Franklin's father impregnated a 12 year old member of his church. How much of a stretch would it be to believe that her father also got her pregnant.

Another website and book claimed Sam Cooke might have had sex with her when she was 12. Apparently, the book claimed Cooke liked more than her voice.

[MineralMan]

8. Not that I know of.

I'm not interested in speculating about this. Children of that age should not become pregnant. Period.

[Greybnk48]

9. My first thought was her father too, sadly.

It's more common than we want to think.

[peekaloo]

10. I heard that for the first time yesterday, too.

and like other posters my mind went to a dark, sad place.

Rest in Peace Ms. Aretha.

[Bayard]

11. Probably not something she'd like to be remembered for......