15-Domestic Violence SURVIVOR: Tina Turner Part 1/2

Hi Warriors, welcome to 1-3. I'm your host, ingrid. When you hear the following quote, people think my life has been tough, but I think it's been a wonderful journey. You may believe there is no way that individual could be speaking of intimate partner violence, but she was That and the emotional abuse and loss she suffered as a child. You see survivors fight and persevere and when they don't back down it can even reach the highest heights, just like Tina Turner did. On November 26, 1939, anna Mae Bullock was born at Brownsville's Haywood Memorial Hospital to Selma in Floyd. Richard Bullock, her father, who went by Richard, was a deacon at the Woodland Baptist Church. He was also the top sharecropper of the Poindexter Farm in Nutbush, tennessee. The Poindexters were a white family who owned the farm and, despite Tennessee being a segregated state at the time, they and the Bullock family socialized well. Anna Mae's mother, whom she called Ma, had previously taken her father away from another woman. The affair left Selma pregnant, so the two got married. It was evident they were not truly in love as they fought all the time. Richard was initially taken by surprise, as he soon found out Selma could and would fight back. Ma gave birth to a baby girl they named Aileen. While the new parents loved their little girl, the marriage continued to suffer. Selma was beginning to imagine leaving Richard when she found out she was pregnant again. This would actually be Selma's third daughter, as she had an older daughter named Evelyn Curie from a previous relationship. This new baby was different. Anna Mae was Aileen's younger sister by three years and she was an unwanted baby in an unhappy marriage. She would soon grow to know it Now. Selma was more Native American than Black descent. Perhaps it was this ethnicity, or just the marvel of genetics, that led Anna Mae to be much fairer skinned, with lighter hair, than her darker sister. Anna Mae's appearance, along with a rumor Selma had been unfaithful, led Richard's family to believe Anna Mae was not his. Therefore, they always looked at her with disapproval. With America's involvement in World War II in 1941, it was felt to be imperative for the United States to develop some type of massive weapon. Plans to construct a nuclear diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, opened up several opportunities to the Black community. Selma and Richard leapt at the chance to make more money. They split their daughters up, sending Aileen to live with Selma's mother, mama Georgie, and Anna Mae to Richard's stricter mother, mama Roxanna. Then the couple went to Knoxville to execute their plan, and in Knoxville they remained for the next few years. Eventually the jobs were dissolved, so Richard and Selma returned home. The Bullock family moved a few times, eventually settling in Spring Hill. Anna Mae continued to feel the emptiness from her parents. It was as if they didn't have time for her or didn't want her around. Anna Mae found comfort and solitude. She would play alone in the hills and then in the trees alongside nature. She befriended animals and became quite independent. One day, when Anna Mae was about nine or ten years old, ma just left. She had done this before bringing her two daughters with her to stay at Mama Georgie's, but Richard would always find them there and bring them back home. This time Ma left alone. Richard couldn't find her. She wasn't at Mama Georgie's. It wasn't until some time later that he figured out she had moved in with an aunt in St Louis. Even though she suffered an emotional absence from Ma, anna May loved her dearly. She was heartbroken at her departure. She hoped she would return or, as she ran to the mailbox every day, hoped to at least receive a letter from Ma. But no letter ever came and Ma never returned. Richard remarried at Divorce with a daughter, anna May's age, shortly after Ma left. His new wife didn't like living in the country and wanted to move to the city. After they all moved to a house within the city limits, the new couple began to fight. Richard would beat his new wife, who ended up stabbing him on two separate occasions. To no surprise, their marriage also ended within a year. As a single man raising two daughters, richard would often have a variety of adults coming in and out of the house, sometimes even staying at the house temporarily. The men would help with chores and the women would also help with chores and take care of the girls. Eventually, their father also left them to move to Detroit. Aileen and Anna May were left in the care of Cousin Ella Vera. Anna May was just 13 years old. Richard sent a little bit of money for a short time, but ultimately neither parent sent any correspondence or support. The two girls found work to help pay for themselves. Anna May worked for the Henderson family. They were a lovely young white couple with a baby. Anna May would help around the house as well as care for the baby. Soon she was staying with them. Aileen and Anna May had a cousin, margaret, on their mother's side. The three were incredibly close, in fact. To Anna May Margaret was like a best friend, cousin, sister and mom all in one. Up until this point in her life, anna May only knew love because of Margaret and Aileen. One evening, returning home from a basketball game, margaret, the girl's half-sister, Evelyn, and another cousin caught a ride home from a boy. He was drunk and driving fast. As he attempted to pass a car, he crashed head-on into a diesel truck. He, evelyn and Margaret were killed. Eventually, richard stopped sending any money, which forced Aileen and Anna May to move in with Mama Roxana. During this time, high schooler, anna May fell in love with a boy two years older than her. She eventually lost her virginity to him. After that he began to date other girls but continued an on-and-off-again relationship with Anna May. He joined the Air Force and when he returned home the two started the relationship up again and even discussed marriage. She was quite surprised when she heard he had married someone else because she was pregnant. Another person she loved was gone. Aileen left Mama Roxana's house, so Anna May moved in with Mama Georgie. It wasn't long after this that Mama Georgie passed away. Naturally, ma attended the funeral. She brought Anna May back with her to St Louis, where Aileen had already moved in. The year was 1956 and while in St Louis Aileen, who worked as a barmaid, introduced 16-year-old Anna May to the nightlife and to the latest hottest band, the Kings of Rhythm. The Kings were led by Ike Turner. Despite thinking he was ugly, anna May couldn't peel her eyes off Ike. His musical talent with a guitar and charisma kept her glued. Anna May would return as often as she could to watch the Kings and would try to get Ike's attention so she could sing. Eventually the mic landed in her hand. Anna May surprised everyone as she belted out such a strong, commanding voice from her petite frame. Ike instantly knew he needed to get her as part of his entourage. So Anna May began performing with the Kings on a regular basis. That's until Ma found out. Zelma confronted Anna May about her performing in bars while in high school. She instantly put a stop to it. In fact, ma backhanded her daughter over the entire thing. But the family fell into tough times and Ike needed a singer. He sat down with Zelma and convinced her to allow Anna May to accompany them to an out-of-town performance. She was able to sing with them on the weekends after that as well. Ike and Anna May developed a good relationship and looked at each other as brother and sister, and Ike lavished Anna May with sequined, adorned dresses, gloves, shoes, jewelry and furs. He took care of any problem Anna May had. This was in typical Ike fashion. He was known to go overboard when he first met people. We use a specific term today for that kind of behavior. It's called love bombing. It was Ike's way of pulling people in and laying a claim of ownership over them. Ike was in a relationship with Lurie and Taylor. Little Anne, as she became known as, began dating the saxophone player Raymond Hill and in 1957, at the age of 18, became pregnant. Raymond broke his ankle and returned to Clarksville, apparently ending the relationship. A few months after Anna May's high school graduation, raymond Craig was born on August 20, 1958. Ike also became a father that October when Lorraine gave birth to Ike Jr. Anna May had been living with Ma but moved out soon after Craig was born. Little Anne continued to perform with the Kings and was paid $15 a week by Ike for her work. In order to pay the bills, anna May also worked as a nursing assistant. Ike was a difficult manager and often lost musicians. Due to his demands. Soon he was without a lead singer and he pushed Little Anne into that vacancy. Her pay was increased to $25 a week and he moved she and baby Craig into his house. Ike confided in Little Anne that every time a musician he brought on with the Kings got a glimpse at stardom they would leave. She promised she would never desert him. The relationship remained strictly professional and sibling-like. That is until one night Little Anne sought refuge in Ike's room. Ike and Lorraine had recently broken up. One of the musicians was hinting he was going to come into Anna May's room that night. She felt she would be safer with Ike, and she was safe until the next morning when Ike started to get handsy. Anna May did not want to have sex with him but gave in, and so it began. Anna May fell in love, but in the meantime Ike and Lorraine had a second son, michael, who was born in 1959. But little Anne was Ike's number one side piece and it just so happens she became pregnant at the beginning of 1960, at which time Ike officially got back together with Lorraine again. In the same year Ike had written A Fool in Love to be recorded with a male vocalist. Well, that singer did not show up to the scheduled recording time. Ike had little Anne fill in. He sent demo tapes out and got a hit. Seeing the goldmine in Anna May, ike made a unilateral decision A Fool in Love would be released, with credit to Ike and Tina Turner. Anna May was unsure about the name change. She was unsure about everything. Ike was certain this album was going to be his ticket out of St Louis and he wanted to go to California. He wanted little Anne to come with him. He announced he would pay her rent but keep all the profits to himself. Anna May was still young, just 20 years old, and didn't have a lot of exposure to the business aspect of music. But she knew she did not want what Ike was selling her. She told him just as much, and that is the first time Ike beat her. Not wanting to damage his guitar and piano playing hands, ike grabbed a shoe stretcher. He hit Anna May in the head until her eye was swollen. Then he forced her onto the bed and raped her. There are many people who believe this is the point. They would leave that situation. They would just walk out and never look back. Before we get all judgmental, let's dive into Anna May's circumstances. She was 20 years old. She only knew singing and performing. Sure, she had a little experience as a nursing assistant in a maternity ward, but she already had a toddler and was pregnant with her second child. She didn't have any familial support other than this family of musicians she had found. Don't forget she loved Ike. She had also vowed she would not be like the other musicians who left him. Anna May believed this was a hiccup in the relationship, that things would, could, should, get better from here. This sounds like a good place to pause for today. Spoiler alert things get worse before they get better, but they do get better. Next week I will bring you the rest of Anna May's story. Until then, stay strong And wherever you are in your journey, always remember you are not alone. Find more information, register as a guest or leave a review by going to the website 1and3podcastcom. That's the number 1, i-n the number 3, podcastcom. Feel 1 and 3 on Instagram, facebook and Twitter at 1and3podcast. To help me out, please remember to rate, review and subscribe. 1 and 3 is a.5. Pinoy production Written and performed by Tim Crow.