In the 1980s, under the glow of stage lights, an 8-year-old girl sitting in the front row locked eyes with a legend.
At the end of the stage musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God in Washington, D.C., Patti LaBelle stepped to the edge of the stage, reached down, and pulled young Sy Smith to her feet.
“She stands me up out of my seat, reaches her hand out to me, and sings right to me. I felt this energy, this connection, and it brought me to tears,” Ms. Smith recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what is this feeling? What is this? Whatever this is, this is something I want to do.’”…