Aretha Franklin To Be Awarded Posthumous Pulitzer Prize

Bella Breakdown

Aretha Franklin may have passed away this past August, but the R&B legend is still making history. The late Detroit-native has been honored with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for her “indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades.” With her win, Franklin has become the first individual woman to win the special Pulitzer citation first awarded in 1930.

“Aretha is blessed and highly favored even in death. She’s continued to receive multiple awards – she’s received almost every award imaginable and now to get the Pulitzer Prize, it’s just amazing,” Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens said. “She was just very gifted and talented, and the world is still recognizing that.”

Franklin’s legacy in music goes on for decades and has resulted in the late singer receiving multiple music awards, but also the highest honor a civilian of the U.S. can receive: the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. At 76, Franklin lost her battle with pancreatic cancer shocking the music world and everyone who loved her.

With hits like “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain Of Fools,” and “Respect,” the singer inspired generations of singers to come; including Mary J. Blige who she recently won a GRAMMY Award within 2008.

Celebrate Franklin’s latest accomplishment by watching the video above.