SYNOPSIS
This Fairytale is four unique yet inseparable, inspiring, stories of June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth Pointer. In words and pictures –photographs and letters, Anita and Fritz Pointer (sister and brother) bring to life the exciting story of: migration during the 1940s Great Migration of Black Americans; fifteen family members living in one house; the deeply troubling dismissal of their father from the church he helped to build; Bonnie and Anita’s founding membership in the Northern California Black Panther Party; the Sisters serendipitous discovery by producer David Rubinson.
Here, also, are stories of love and companionship, fierce individuality and competition. For their debut performance in San Francisco, picture: four Billie Holidays and, surprise, the band in KKK costumes; later, a mob carrying signs that say “Keep Country White” at the Grand Ole Opry. Refusing to be intimidated or pigeonholed, The Pointer Sisters “broke the mold” for female performing groups, by amazingly, singing all styles of music with honesty and conviction: Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues and Pop. They received three Grammy and three American Music Awards; a Hollywood Star, and performed at the S.F. Opera House, at the Mohamed Ali v. George Foreman championship fight in Zaire, Africa, at Carnegie Hall and the White House; their lives, even today, are stunning and triumphant.
Collectively, and individually, when it was time, June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth cared for and supported their parents, their own children and grandchildren in sickness and in health. They have made their presence on this planet matter.