Nicole Cooke.Photo: Courtesy Nicole Cooke
In honor of what would have been legendary soul singer and civil rights activistSam Cooke’s 90th birthday, his granddaughter,Nicole Cooke-Johnson, is doing a “toast” to her grandfather.
The Sam Cooke estate, Royalty Firm LLC, is holding a virtual “Toast to Sam Cooke” to celebrate the singer-songwriter. Celebrities from all walks of life — including Rod Stewart, Leslie Jordan,Jennifer Hudson,Leona Lewis,James Bayand director ofOne Night in Miami,Regina King— are all set to participate on social media.
“Seeing that movie for us was the climax of our pride because it showcased Sam’s brand amazingly,” says Cooke-Johnson. “When they cast Leslie Odom Jr., there could not have been a better person to have played his part.”
From left: Leslie Odom Jr. as Cooke, Eli Goree as Muhammad Ali, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X and Aldis Hodge as James Brown.Courtesy of Amazon Studios
As the chief executive officer of his estate, Cooke-Johnson says the work she does fills her with pride as it’s an honor for her to carry on the memory of her grandfather.
“As soon as I knew about anything, I knew about music in this family,” says Cooke-Johnson. “And as soon as I knew about music, my grandfather’s impact on the music business just in general has always been a part of my understanding of music.”
Cooke-Johnson shares that while the relevance of the song today shows that Black Americans are facing the same battles as they did in the past, the reliance on community and music is what gets her through these difficult times.
Sam Cooke.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
“And I think that that’s why we’re seeing so many artists come together and seeing ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ performances in different places. They use that as their marker that things will get better,” says Cooke-Johnson. “While things may be in a hard place, I think all of us today after experiencing yesterday’s inauguration, all kind of feel that breath of fresh air. That hope I think was used to write a song like ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’ The idea that while we may go through a lot, change eventually will always come.”
She and her son, Vonce Johnson II, 22, got to see just how impactful this anthem and Cooke’s legacy has been throughout American history when they took a trip to theNational Museum of African American History and Culturein 2017. Cooke-Johnson says it was a powerful experience for her family and one she commemorates with a picture in her living room.
Courtesy Nicole Cooke
“That picture and that moment will forever resonate for us,” says Cooke-Johnson. “I mean that for us — not only for our culture. For us as a family, for the legacy that we’re striving to provide, I meanthatis what was the moment for us.”
“I think what’s very important is that those before us remember to impact those that are coming after us,” she says. “That’s all legacy means: making sure that what we create in our time, we pass on to those that are coming after us.”
source: people.com
