© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

The High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, will soon have a new temple

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD")

NINA SIMONE: (Singing) Please don't let me be misunderstood.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Michel Martin.

The high priestess of soul, Nina Simone, will soon have a new temple. In 2017, four Black artists bought Simone's childhood home in Tryon, N.C., to save it from demolition. Earlier this week, artists inspired by Simone's music, with some support from tennis star Venus Williams, raised close to $6 million to transform it into a cultural center. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.