'Genius: Aretha' Takes Us Behind The Scenes With Their Team Of Black Creatives

essence.com:

Genius: Aretha, the first time the acclaimed series tells the truth about Black women—that we’re geniuses too.“She’s the first American in the series, the first woman, the first person of color and she was able to alchemize her life into sonic gold,” showrunner Suzan Lori-Parks says in the sneak peek, which ESSENCE got our hands on. “Aretha Franklin has an exceptional quality.”The woman embodying the late Franklin, who died in 2018 of advanced pancreatic cancer, is near EGOT winner Cynthia Erivo, who began listening to the Queen of Soul’s music when she was “little,” she says in the preview, which debuted at CTAM’s Summer 2020 Virtual Press Conference on Monday.“It feels good to share with the world that Black women contain genius.