"Aretha: Young, Gifted and Black" is the fifth episode in the third season of Genius. It is the twenty-fifth episode overall.
Plot Summary[]
Aretha records her protest album, Young, Gifted and Black, in 1970, and despite Jerry Wexler's uncertainty, the album is a success; Barbara Franklin makes a decision that has a devastating effect on Little Re.
Cast[]
- Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin
- Malcolm Barrett as Ted White
- Patrice Covington as Erma Franklin
- Rebecca Naomi Jones as Carolyn Franklin
- David Cross as Jerry Wexler
- Kimberly Hébert Gregory as Ruth Bowen
- Shaian Jordan as Little Re (young Aretha)
- Courtney B. Vance as C. L. Franklin
Guest Starring[]
- Marque Richardson as King Curtis
- Pauletta Washington as Rachel Franklin
- Steven G. Norfleet as Cecil Franklin
- Antonique Smith as Barbara Franklin
- T.I. as Ken Cunningham