Public Enemy’s Inspiration for Fear of A Black Planet has died. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing – a revered scholar, author and “Queen Mother of Black Consciousness” – as died at the age of 80.
Welsing suffered a stroke on New Year’s Day and was previously in critical condition before passing away in Washington D.C.
Welsing’s crowning works were “Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation” (1974) and then The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991), which was embraced by the Hip-Hop community during the Golden Era of rap music.
Chuck D of Public Enemy said, “RIP to the elder Dr. Frances Cress Welsing.. the inspiration behind FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET via @harryallen.”
Below are a few videos of Dr Frances Cress Welsing. She will be missed, but her impact is everlasting.
