Michael Jackson and I shared an issue of Jet Magazine for a week back in November 1987 when he "conquered Japan." Let it be known that Michael was my cover story, and I was his centerfold. We were laid out on those sheets together and I will always "Remember the Time."
Brother Michael Joseph Jackson transitioned back to "The Light" on June 25, 2009 at age 50. Regardless of what anyone says to me about the lightness of his Blackness, I know one thing for sure, he never lost his soul power or acknowledgement of the seed from whence it came.
It can be said with confidence that we all have vices. In my view, Brother Michael's vice was -- skin color. But make no mistake, he always stuck to his mission, to his higher purpose to practice and promote unity and racial harmony. And he consistently used his talents and skills to help the downtrodden on a global scale.
The brother was a bridge over racial waters. People from all walks of life love and adore him. Look out Elvis fans because Michael Jackson has a fan base that quite possibly extends to the universe (I'll have to get back to you with precise datum on that). But for now trust me, his music was/is universal.
Brother Michael's music catalogue had something for everyone. I cannot say which is my favorite Michael Jackson song because they all stir me one way or another.
However, I repeatedly hit the repeat button on his social conscious music because that is my bag. Songs like "They Don't Care About Us," where he exclaims: "Some things in life they just don't wanna see. But if Martin Luther was livin' he wouldn't let it be." The song and the video stir my soul to "dance, shout" and shake my "body down to the ground" because he and Spike Lee took it to the streets, baby. They took it to the streets of Brazil where more than 50 Brazilian brothers and sisters of all colors, collectively, spoke out against poverty and oppression in Afro-Brazilian drumbeats. I'll always remember that.
Initially, I was speechless when I heard of Brother Michael's passing, so I listened to the expressed thoughts of others. Nichelle Smith of Gannett ContentOne said: "I don't see MJ as an avatar; I do think he was one of those folks who was a conduit for getting us along a continuum from King to Obama. The avatars need artists, writers, entertainers -- and hairdressers, and accountants, and ditch diggers - who agree with them in spirit and principle and do things in their smaller circles of influence that, when added up, equal greater change. I'm thinking how MJ was a step in bringing kids from all over the world to one place -- MTV -- where they could begin to learn about each other through music. His death, like his life brings together everyone of every race -- this time to mourn."
His body is gone but his music, his spirit, continues to be a bridge over racial waters. Let's all "Remember the Time" when Brother Michael Jackson's visionary, brilliant, artistic music brought forth unity on earth, and raised our collective consciousness.
As a tribute to his spirit, now is the time to remember -- the trick is to -- keep rising.
-- By Dandrea James Harris
I love this post. It speaks to who we all were at one important point in time.