October 6, 2025
‘I was longing to be part of it. And my parents kept telling me it was dangerous,’ said Richie.
Former Commodores singer Lionel Richie recently revealed that, while growing up in Alabama, he had an opportunity to participate in a civil rights march featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but his parents didn’t allow him to.
According to The Guardian, in an exclusive interview with the media outlet, while speaking about his latest memoir, “Truly,” Richie shared why he wasn’t allowed and how it left him feeling, knowing he wanted to be a part of such a historical event. The situation took place during the height of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
After learning that the civil rights leader was having a march, along with his friends, he wanted to march alongside Dr. King on his way to Montgomery. The “Hello” singer was 15 years old at the time. His parents did not want him to go because they felt it was dangerous for him to do so.
“I was longing to be part of it. And my parents kept telling me it was dangerous,” Richie stated.
Not being able to go upset the future Motown recording artist, but they explained why they would not let him go.
“I was angry, because I thought they had left me out of some of the most significant history. My anger came when I realized what my grandmother and grandfather had gone through, what my mom and dad had gone through. I said to my folks, ‘Why did you not tell me? Why did you not involve us in this?’, and their answer was, ‘We didn’t want anything to limit you in your thinking of what the possibilities for your future could be. And if we had attached you to our anger, then you would be stuck in our anger.’”
In the interview, he did say that if he had not gone into music, he might have become a professor of Black history.
Ricbie’s book, “Truly,” was released Sept. 30.
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