Photo Credit: Lenny Kravitz/Instagram
Lenny Kravitz, like much of the rest of the world mourned the loss of Hollywood legend Cicely Tyson who passed away at 96 this past Thursday. And while the woman best known for being in over 90 films and tv shows including Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots and plenty more is going to be sorely missed by the public, it’s going to hit especially hard for her godson, Kravitz.
In a heartfelt post on Instagram, Kravitz wrote about how “she lived a remarkable life up to the last moment,” and said she was “a Black queen who showed us how beautiful black is.” And this is an important thing in a time where we have political figures who like to articulate to black parents that there isn’t a need to speak to black children about race, coming from a figure/tap dancer (*cough Candace Owens), who at the time was busy selling a book about guess what… race, and of course last summer’s riots over police abuse and the people paid to state that these or any race issues for that matter don’t exist while being paid to speak on… race issues. Viola Davis said that Tyson made her feel “valued in a world where there is still a cloak of invisibility for us dark chocolate girls.” But enough about everyone else… even though the topic of race pride isn’t one that can be spoken about enough, we do have to get to Kravitz’ open letter.
View this post on Instagram
The letter begins with Kravitz saying, “With inimitable style and grace, my dear Godmother Miss Cicely Tyson made her grand exit to the heavens. She lived a remarkable life up to the last moment. A true pioneer, who bared her heart and soul so we could witness the spirit of the characters she so brilliantly portrayed, which continue to move and inspire generations.”
He continued, “A Black queen who showed us how beautiful black is. The love between us was and is tremendous. As long as I have had consciousness, I’ve known Godmother. She and my mother were kindred spirits. Sisters. And after my mother passed, Godmother’s role in my life was amplified. I constantly felt her spirit over me. She always gave me unconditional support. She came to my shows, came over for holidays, met me for dinners, stayed with me in Paris when I first moved there, and never let me too far out of her sight. Our phone calls went on sometimes for hours. We spoke just a few nights ago and talked about everything. She had just sent me her book that has been sitting on my nightstand where it will remain. She did it all, wrote the book, and then God called her. I can hear Godmother saying “ok, now y’all can read about it, I’m going home”. Rest peacefully, Godmother. You did it all exquisitely #CicelyTyson”
We’re there with you Lenny. We’re all feeling the same.
