The Supremes receive Randolph well. In April 1967, Gordy then contacted Cindy Birdsong, a member of Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles who superficially resembled Ballard, with plans to bring her in as Ballard's replacement. He made his plans clear to Ballard and her group mates at a mid-April meeting, and Birdsong was brought in to begin rehearsals. Gordy did not fire Ballard outright at that time, asking Ballard instead to quit on her own. Birdsong first appeared with the Supremes in Ballard's place at a benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29, 1967. Following the performance, Gordy quickly learned
Mia Birdsong to connect with the characters in these stories. There were books like Nancy Drew and Judy Blume that drew on gender invisibility, but not race. When Birdsong was a senior in high school, she read Richard Wright's "Black Boy". Though the book wasn't assigned for students to read, Birdsong chose it for her AP English class. Another influence was Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back""." With the birth of her first child in 2005, Birdsong wanted to ensure that her daughter saw herself reflected in the world around her. She wanted her daughter to