Become a Member ![\\"snopes](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\"/) Search My Profile Logout Submit a Rumor Latest Trending News & Politics Entertainment Fact Checks Quiz Sections Latest Trending Fact Checks News Collections More Contact Us Submit a Rumor Archives Quiz FactBot Newsletters About Us Categories News & Politics Entertainment Science & Technology Lifestyle Free accounts support our journalism Become a Member Login My Profile Logout ![\\"republican_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/republican_symbol.png\\"/) Snopes fact-checked the vice presidential debate live! Read more here ![\\"democrat_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/democrat_symbol.png\\"/) Fact Check # Was Aretha Franklin\'s Voice Declared a \'Natural Resource\' in Michigan? ## The late singer\'s home state honored her in many ways. ### Nur Ibrahim ### Published Feb. 12, 2022 ![\\"OLYMPUS](\\" Aretha_Franklin_-_Peri.jpeg\\") OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA (Image courtesy of Teresa Grau Ros/Wikimedia Commons) Claim: Singer Aretha Franklin’s voice was declared a “natural resource” by the state of Michigan\'s Department of Natural Resources in 1985. Rating: True About this rating > Curious about how Snopes\' writers verify information and craft their > stories for public consumption? We\'ve collected some posts that help > explain how we do what we do. Happy reading and let us know what else you > might be interested in knowing. Singer Aretha Franklin received extensive praise in her life, from being nicknamed the “Queen of Soul” to winning numerous accolades. She died in 2018 at the age of 76 after having won 18 Grammy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a host of other honors. Advertisement: But one particular honor put her at another, perhaps unprecedented, level. In 1985, the Department of Natural Resources in her home state of Michigan declared her voice a “natural resource.” The declaration was part of a celebration paying tribute to her career, which at the time had been going strong for more than two decades. The event was covered in this 1985 issue of Jet, a magazine about Black culture and entertainment: ![\\"\\"](\\" Shot-2022-02-07-at-12.46.02-PM.png\\") Advertisement: The event was also covered in this August 1985 issue of The Sentinel, a Pennsylvania newspaper: ![\\"\\"](\\" Shot-2022-02-07-at-4.09.38-PM.png\\") Advertisement: According to the book \"Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul\" by Mark Bego, Franklin said of the honor: \"I\'m especially delighted with the idea of making my voice a Natural Resource of Michigan — being that I am a Michigan girl at heart.\" The city of Detroit, where Franklin grew up, declared Feb. 16 “Aretha Franklin Day” in 1968. In 2020, two years after her death, a highway in Detroit was also named in her honor. Given that this unusual tribute was widely covered by reliable sources at the time, we rate this claim as “True.” #### Sources “Albert’s Medley.” The Sentinel from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 30 Aug. 1985. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. \"Aretha Franklin.\" Grammy.com. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. “Aretha Franklin’s Voice Declared Natural Resource.” Jet, Aug. 1985, Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. “Aretha L. Franklin Memorial Highway Dedicated in Detroit.” Mlive, 24 Aug. 2020, memorial-highway-dedicated-in-detroit.html. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. Bego, Mark. Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul. Skyhorse Publishing, 2012, Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. “RIP Aretha Franklin: Five Ways the Queen of Soul Made History.” BBC News, 16 Aug. 2018. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. Suggs, Ernie, and Shelia M. Poole. “Aretha Franklin Used Her Voice to ‘Deliver Music for Social Justice.’” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022. ### By Nur Ibrahim Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing. ## Article Tags Entertainment Editor\'s Picks Aretha Franklin Recommendations Advertisement: ![\\"Snopes.com\\"](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\") Company About Us FAQs Contact Us Submit a Topic Navigate Home Search Archive Newsletters Random Sections Latest Top Fact Checks News Account Join Login Game FactBot Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter © 1995 - 2024 by Snopes Media Group Inc. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com Terms of Use Privacy Policy DMCA Policy
Singer Aretha Franklin’s voice was declared a natural resource by the state of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources in 1985