"Hopefully you all got a chance to watch the Unsung - David Ruffin episode last night.
I wanted to make certain to watch it and I was quite pleased with it because of the huge presence of our friend Genna Sapia Ruffin and her son, David Ruffin Jr, during the broadcast.
As I watched, I couldn't help but smile just a little, stick my chest out just a little, as the following thoughts crossed my mind...
1. When I first met Genna, back in the late 1990's, she had just put the finishing touches on her book ("A Memoir: David Ruffin--My Temptation") and she wanted me to review it. I figured that since I had seen the Temptations TV movie, I pretty much already knew
everything that I needed to know about David Ruffin. After not only reading the book, but also several marathon telephone conversations with Genna, I found out just how little I knew about David Ruffin. More
importantly, she was very excited about the fact that she was going to market the book online pretty much exclusively. She told me that she had already been severely attacked by many people (some famous and some not so famous) here online, trying to discredit her. I saw some of these disgusting emails and I applauded Genna's courage in continuing to move forward with her plan, despite the ferocity of opposition that she faced from people that didn't know her or her family. Seeing her on TV last night, pretty much as the "expert" on the topic of David Ruffin,must have felt like vindication for Genna, after all of these years of people trying to discredit her.
2. A few years later, I had asked Genna to do a presentation at the 2004 Soul-Patrol convention about her book. She agreed to do so and when that day came, in front of a crowd of about 500 people inside of the
auditorium of the Kennedy Center in Willingboro, NJ, I was pleased to introduce Genna Sapia Ruffin to the crowd. When I was done with the intro, I was surprised when Genna grabbed my arm and whispered to me;
"You have to stay here with me, I'm too nervous to stand here and do this all by myself." So that is what I did :) Watching Genna last night on TV, telling her story to millions of people, just as cool as a cucumber, with all of the confidence of a network news anchor, was for me a wonderful thing to behold. =)
3. Later that same evening, I surprised Genna by calling her up on stage and presenting her with the "Black American Standard Music: Internet Pioneer Award." She came up onstage, she was in tears, she hugged me and
whispered; "I'm no pioneer--hell if anything, I should be giving you this award." I laughed and told her; "It isn't my place to get awards, only to give them, just listen to me while I explain to the audience why you deserve to be recognized as an internet Pioneer of Black American
Standard Music." I told the crowd how Genna Sapia Ruffin was the FIRST person that I knew of who had a REAL STORY TO TELL US ABOUT BLACK MUSIC
HISTORY THAT WAS BEING SUPPRESSED and actually did something about it. She had discovered that she could use the power of the internet to LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD, not only for herself, but for anyone else who wanted to do so. She deserves this "Black American Standard Music: Internet Pioneer Award" because she was the FIRST person that I knew who did exactly that.
Watching her on TV last night just plain made me feel good. Made me feel like...well, like sometimes justice actually happens.
And of course I am quite proud of her. I'm still smiling, my chest is still stuck out and I feel absolutely inspired....
Bob Davis
609-351-0154"
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