Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters

In my favorite Willie Mae Thornton performance, she is much older, near the end of her life, singing with Aretha Franklin, who--in the moment--towers over her. And even with that physical disparity in mind, Thornton's presence is still massive, illuminating, almost beyond language. I say almost, as this book is an achievement in many ways: in sharpness of language, in brilliance of storytelling. But it is also an achievement in that it affords Willie Mae Thornton the presence she deserves, a presence that outlives and outlasts a history that has never done her justice.

~Hanif Abdurraqib