By Vincent L. Hall
She invited a politician to render the last sermon before her departure. Still, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price delivered a musical litany on behalf of the Rev. Dr. Sheron Patterson, who is retiring.
Although the leaders of the Methodism and the Hamilton Park United Methodist Church (aka The Park) are saddened, Commissioner Price’s message was a harbinger of hope. It was titled “Never Can Say Goodbye.”
“Never Can Say Goodbye” was written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by the Jackson 5. It was intended for the Supremes, but Barry Gordon decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. He was right! (Again)
It became the first single re- leased from the group’s 1971 album “Maybe Tomorrow” and was among its most successful records.
But Commissioner Price put the song in context.
“In 1971, White folks were topping the chart with fun, fellowship, and frivolity.
Meanwhile, in the community you grew up in, Black folks were dealing with funk, phony friendships, and “faking it” until we were “making it.”
To prove my point. Look at Billboard’s top 100 in 1971. Three Dog Night released, “Joy to the World,” John Denver released, “Take Me Home” and James Taylor made a list with, “You’ve Got a Friend.
Now, I must admit the Bee Gees placed on the charts with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” but they sounded and acted Black anyway!
Meanwhile, across the tracks, life was funky, and it wasn’t a joke.
Al Green was crooning in “I’m So Tired of Being Alone.” The Undisputed Truth had a one-hit wonder, “Smiling Faces, They Don’t Tell the Truth.”
Stevie Wonder doubted the genuineness of his girlfriend’s affection when he released “If You Really Love Me.”
Price interjected that 1971 was a post-traumatic odyssey for Black folks. Just three years prior, in 1968, we were still coming to grips with the reality of our fallen martyr.
We were rethinking and re- adjusting after seeing Dr. Martin Luther King gunned down while holding the “white flag” of non-violence in his hand.
The Black Panthers, Huey P. Newton, Angela Davis, H. Rap. Brown and a whole cast of folks called “radicals” begin to make us think differently.”
In 1971, White folks were living it up. Black folks were trying to come up. James Brown was in a Cold Sweat and demanded “The Man”, to “Give it up and Turn it Loose.”
Price continued, “Michael Jackson and his four brothers were singing “Never Can Say Goodbye,” but some of us were ear-hustling to the music coming from the underground.
“We Shall Overcome” was suddenly substituted with James Brown’s psyche-bending hit, “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.”
There will never be another song or tagline that profoundly lifted Black folks.
In 1971, Gil Scott Heron also produced his seminal work, “Pieces of a Man.”
Gil couldn’t say goodbye to the racism and discrimination in the ghetto of America or the Apartheid in South Africa. He could not turn from watching the colonizers mistreat his people at home or abroad.
Listen to the hits from that one album. And yes, young folk, it wasn’t no 8 Track, cassette, or live stream.
In 1971, Gil’s playlist made some of us more serious about what was happening to us as a people. “Home is where the hatred is” and “Save the Children” were his battle cries. But Gil Scott (not to be confused with Jill Scott, young people) also delivered a prophecy with his hit “The Revolution will not be televised!”
Price said it was apparent that Dr. Sheron Patterson was studying the Freedom Fighters.
“Your pastor who fought racism, sexism, and all of them other isms, Dr. Patterson has spent her whole life trying to biblically conjugate, conversate, educate, and liberate our people. It is a vocation that you can never say goodbye to.”
And whether you have known this trailblazing woman as “The Love Doctor,” a leader of the Black Clergy, a testifying breast cancer survivor, or just a pas- tor who loves and dotes on her members, know that Price got it right.
Price used music to prove a point…Dr. Sheron Patterson can never say goodbye. We can’t afford it!
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.
