UPTOWNflavor

Whenever I think of Harlem, I think of the tag line of the Apollo Theater: “Where stars are born and legends are made.” The home going ceremony for Dr. Barbara Ann Teer was legendary. The New York Times reports:

Before the encomiums and songs and reminiscences and invocations at Riverside Church in Manhattan, there was a release of doves. There was a mile-and-a-half-long walk through Harlem. There was an advance processional guard of 40 African drummers. There was a horse-drawn carriage bearing the coffin. And, yes, there was an elephant.

Then, just in case anyone was feeling too very sad, fireworks were presented by the Grucci family at a barge on the Hudson River.

It is estimated that over 350 mourners joined the procession to honor the legacy of a girl from St. Louis who had dreams of stardom and a deep-rooted commitment to the arts.

The ecstatic participants saluted the Apollo Theater as they passed by on 125th Street when the marquee flashed “In Memory of Dr. Barbara Ann Teer 1937-2008.” She referred to herself, and was known to people in Harlem, as Dr. Teer.

The news of her passing spread like wildfire through the arts community and in turn everyone from local residents of Harlem, to big name stars, to politicians showed up to honor her memory.

At the church on Riverside Drive at 120th Street, Roberta Flack played the piano and sang a song of hope that, she said to the crowd, was “from Barbara to you.” The lyrics included the words “you make the dark clouds roll away,” and brought tears to many eyes in the crowd.

Representative Charles B. Rangel memorialized “that smile, that unforgettable, beautiful, everlasting smile.” He added, “Whenever it’s time for me to go, I want to be with her.”

A friend of mine was able to get me a program since I wasn’t able to attend, and there are sure to be pictures of the celebration that will be shared for months to come. Some of the familiar names and faces that came out to pay their respects included:

Ruby Dee, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Ebony Jo-Ann, Forces of Nature, Roberta Flack, George Faison, Tarzana Beverly, Lauryn Hill, Craig Harris, Ralph Carter (Good Times), Yaya Decosta (ANTM), and on and on. Actor, Avery Brooks read telegrams from, Minister Farrakhan and Maya Angelou.

“The actress Hattie Winston said during the service that Ms. Teer had ‘the backbone of an African princess.’”

To applause and shouts, Woodie King Jr. of the New Federal Theater in Manhattan honored her “40 years of fighting this vicious, racist system to keep the institution going.”

Others drew laughter from the crowd as they described Ms. Teer’s flamboyant style and crowded schedule. “This leaving is too abrupt, too unanticipated,” said the actress Ruby Dee of the passing of Ms. Teer. “Perhaps she needed to staff some meeting.”

And Mr. Paterson, who is the father of Gov. David A. Paterson, got a laugh when, in mentioning Ms. Teer’s forceful defense of her theater, he described himself as “just one of Barbara’s go-fers.”

In explaining the parade, Nabii Faison, the general manager of the National Black Theater, said, “Processions are not unusual in the African-American community, and white is a different take than black, at a memorial,” referring to the white and purple worn by many of the mourners.

“And purple,” Mr. Faison said, “is for royalty, which she surely was.”

Read the whole article: New York Times

Photos so graciously provide by: Naomi of A Little Red Hen