So it makes total sense that she’d keep using the snake for furtherReputationvideos; wealso saw it at a time in life when complications during pregnancy are more common. from advanced pancreatic cancer. But her legacy lives on in my own life. Aretha instructed me not only how to spell “Respect,” but how to sound it out, how to demand it, how to make every letter in the word exude from my body, taking complete autonomy over myself and my surroundings. I am lucky my parents were fans. Listening to her old records in the mosaic of my first generation household, she became a north star on how to be loud, proud, and black in America. There was something about Aretha that was so very intentionally overpowering. She was a volcano of a woman weaving together America’s lava of dreams and pockmarked history into a nuanced version of lady liberty that met suffering and perseverance at every intersection. Chicago's Broken Political Machine Is Being Challenged by Young ActivistsLet’s be honest: Weallmiss theJonas Brothers.