Al Sharpton, dropping the bomb, and the morning’s most compelling statement, at Michael Jackson’s memorial service, the Staples Center, Los Angeles CA, July 7, 2009.
“I want his three children to know: Wa’nt nothin’ strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with.”
July 7th, 2009 | Black Music, Obituary, Pop Culture, Race, TV
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5 comments ↓
Short, Concise, Dead on. I wish I could sum up MJ in one line like Sharpton did.
I had the blessing to be there in person when he said this and to feel, not just hear, the reaction of those in attendance was emotionally overwhelming.
It was as if everyone there understood and had their own personal experience that related to how he was treated.
The media destroyed a man who just wanted to keep his youthful innocence in adulthood.
You nailed it, about that line’s significance. Also reminds me of this Baldwin quote (from ’85!)
“The Michael Jackson cacophony is fascinating in that it is not about Jackson at all. I hope he has the good sense to know it and the good fortune to snatch his life out of the jaws of a carnivorous success. He will not swiftly be forgiven for having turned so many tables, for he damn sure grabbed the brass ring, and the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo has nothing on Michael.
All that noise is about America, as the dishonest custodian of black life and wealth; the blacks, especially males, in America; and the burning, buried American guilt; and sex and sexual roles and sexual panic; money, success and despair–to all of which may now be added the bitter need to find a head on which to place the crown of Miss America.
Freaks are called freaks and are treated as they are treated–in the main, abominably–because they are human beings who cause to echo, deep within us, our most profound terrors and desires.”
– James Baldwin, “Here Be Dragons” (1985)
makes sense…
One of the few people to actually get the quote right.
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