I did not believe it when a text from DJ Travisty showed up on my phone at 2:50 on Thursday June 25, 2009: “Michael Jackson is dead.” I texted back: “Shut up.” 

It was real.

For some, Michael Jackson was more than the greatest entertainer to grace this planet. For some, he is an inspiration and someone whose voice is the soundtrack of our lives. 

I grew up watching, listening and admiring Jackson as did so many millions around the world. I loved seeing he and the zombies breaking it down while Vincent Price spit his game. I watched with curiosity as his beautiful appearance gradually changed from a brown-skin man that the ladies loved to an extremely light-skinned man that … the ladies still loved. I feel for people who were not around in 1984 and the few years surrounding that one.  I truly doubt that the electricity of stars like Madonna, Prince and Jackson in those few years will ever be seen or felt again. It was an era unto itself and all of the Britney Spears, Justin Timberlakes, Kanye Wests and (add ANY name here) will ever achieve the truly fanatic-based super-icon status thrust upon the world by Jackson.

It is clear that a lot of haters, even in his afterlife will desire to hate upon Jackson and call him a child molester and "Wacko Jacko" until their thirst for "Haterade" has been quenched. (He was found "not guilty." In the United States it seems to be guilty until proven guilty, especially for celebrities/athletes of color. Be aware of the double standard future luminaries!)

I would like to highlight the man who presented the best aspects of being a community supporter, a friend and a humanitarian. Jackson is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most charitable pop star in the history of Earth. Jackson also broke the color line of MTV after desegregation supposedly happened nearly 20 years earlier. The TV was still segregated until Michael arrived on MTV and changed the lame station forever (I was watching Night Tracks on TBS anyway! Got my Duran Duran, Chaka Khan and "Burning Down The House" fix that way!)  Still, Michael was a tremendous philanthropist who visited with and donated to children’s causes in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.  He supported Ryan White’s fight with AIDS. He aided more than 200 students in earning their college degrees via the United Negro College Fund. He stood and fought discrimination against African/African-American artists in racist places like the United States and South Africa. And, of course, he was the catalyst behind The U.S.A. for Africa Campaign, which spawned the global hit “We Are The World.”

Michael’s relevance is unreal.  In the three days following his untimely death people have paid to download more than 2.6 million of his songs.  His albums are again at the top of the Billboard charts and radio is rockin’ his jams. Some of us never stopped rockin’ for the original MJ.

My best thoughts and wishes are with Jackson, his family and those who loved him.  We wish he knew how much he meant to so many of us.

Peace & Love
 
Jose S. Gutierrez Jr. is an editor, writer and producer. A graduate of Washington State University and student at The Evergreen State College, he writes and edits the Pacific Northwest section of OZONE Magazine and hosts and produces Live From I-5 Radio (since ’89) every Friday at 3 p.m. on KAOS 89.3 FM (www.kaosradio.org) in Olympia.