Remembering Michael Jackson

A Brother and a Hero

Recently I heard a reporter say,"Why is the whole world grieving over Michael?" He then said Michael was a good entertainer but that he was a pervert and a freak. He got the part about Michael Jackson being a good entertainer half right...he was more than good. Michael Jackson was phenomenal. There is not likely even the slimmest chance that someone like him will come again. Also, some of us knew them before Ed Sullivan, before MTV. In my case, I first knew of Michael Jackson when he was five years old. He and his brothers sang at an assembly at my mothers school. My mother raved about him forever. By the time I actually saw Michael, by the time I saw him at the Regal Theater he felt like my little brother. Most of us watched him grow with protective spirits, because life was not kind for black artists. Until Michael Jackson, MTV refused to put black people on. But, who could resist Thriller? Michael changed how music was presented and he changed the way white people treated black artists. He became something of a hero to most of us. He was breaking barriers and changing life for black artist who would follow.

Why did Michael turn white?

I really do want to address his transformational appearance, which earned him the title of freak. Michael Jackson had the unique ability to take the hand that life dealt him, and to play it...win or lose. One of the things that Michael experienced was a skin disease that turned him porcelain white.He never beached himself white because he hated being black, He simply never wanted anyone to see him as someone with a disability. So he did everything he could do to hide it from the world, including wearing a glittering glove. More recently he was seen wearing masks over his face. Michael found a way to live through it all. Have a look at this video, it is extremely informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6xJlyJgfS8

There was also quite a lot of talk about the surgeries he had on his face. The first rhinoplasty he had done was because of an accident because he actually broke his nose. What is unknown to most of those who are not his fans is the shame he'd felt from his father ridiculing  him about the size of his nose. The rhinoplasty was a reason to have work done on his nose was a reason to reshape his feature. That is the nose you see him with on the Thriller album. He is black, and he still has a black mans features. Refined, but black, like Oprah.

As time went on his skin disease got worse. Virgilio was beginning to turn him white. This took place over a period of years. The treatments that Michael had to take did not bleach his skin. (If you haven't watched the video above, now is a good time. It explains what vitiligo is, and the treatments Michael had to take for this incurable disease). Ultimately, Michael became almost totally white. It was something he could not change. Michael decided to live the best he could with the condition. He was now white with black features on his face. Michael finally had a second rhinoplasty to have a nose that belonged on a white face. At this time he was beginning to look totally white, and most people had some theory about it. The chief myth was, he hates being black.

I think changing his features to fit his skin was smart. It really was more fitting, plus people would still have talked if he had not had the surgery. Later he felt he looked too feminine, so he had a clef put in his chin hoping it would solve the problem. He was taking his situation and finding a way to live with it. He was not trying to be white, and he was especially not trying to look like a white woman! The tabloids went wild! They completely forgot about the good that Michael had done to save hundreds of lives.

He Was a Humanitarian

ccording to Whats Haute, June 29th "The loss of Michael Jackson shook the world on Thursday. Michael Jackson the entertainer not only impacted the music world in tremendous ways, he was also a global humanitarian, lending his support to 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through project sponsorships. He received recognition in the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book Of World Records for breaking the world record for the “Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star”. Despite media allegations, Mich

Michael Was an Inventor!

Michael Jackson loved all children, and took time out while touring to secret visting sick children and even had special rooms at his Neverland Ranch for sick and terminally ill children.' This is agood article with beautiful pictures. I you can, visit this site.
(http://whatshaute.com/?tag=guiness-book-of-world-records)

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/113-michael-jackson

Charities Supported

Michael Jackson has supported the following charities:

The following is a list of charities he pubilicly helped in his life that was taken from AllMichaelJackson.com:
AIDS Project L.A.
American Cancer Society
Angel Food
Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles
BMI Foundation, Inc.
Brotherhood Crusade
Brothman Burn Center
Camp Ronald McDonald
Childhelp U.S.A.
Children's Institute International
Cities and Schools Scholarship Fund
Community Youth Sports & Arts Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
Dakar Foundation
Dreamstreet Kids
Dreams Come True Charity
Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Love Match
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Minority Aids Project
Motown Museum
NAACP
National Rainbow Coalition
Rotary Club of Australia
Society of Singers
Starlight Foundation
The Carter Center's Atlanta Project
The Sickle Cell Research Foundation
Transafrica
United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
United Negro College Fund Ladder's of Hope
Volunteers of America
Watts Summer Festival
Wish Granting
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw