By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press WriterNEW YORK - Pallbearers lifted the gold casket carrying the "Godfather of Soul" into a horse-drawn carriage Thursday for a procession through Harlem to the historic Apollo Theater, where thousands of fans waited to pay their respects to the late
James Brown. As the carriage began rolling, people followed in the street singing the chorus of Brown's anthem, "Say it Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud."
Brown, who died of heart failure Christmas morning at 73, will lie in repose from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday on the stage where he made his 1956 debut. As Norman Brand waited outside the theater for the procession to arrive, the 55-year-old recalled hearing Brown's anthem for the first time in his native Alabama. "It really changed the attitude of most black people. It was like a wake up call. Before that, if you were called black, it was like an insult," Brand said. "Just one song and one word can change a whole situation."
The Rev. Al Sharpton, Brown's close friend, raced through the night in a van with the casket, arriving about three hours late, but vowing to make sure the R&B star did not miss his date. "He was a superstar for common people, and I wanted to make sure that common people got to see him one last time," Sharpton told The Associated Press late Wednesday, at the start of his journey from Georgia to New York. Sharpton said the road trip was necessary because logistical problems had made it impossible to catch the last flight of the evening. -complete article
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