Happy 62nd Birthday Michael Jackson! Michael manifested his success and worked so hard to have an everlasting legacy. Here's a thread on how he was a champion for black people, a hero and a king!
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First let me start by saying Michael was an actual king! He was crowned as an honorary king of Sanwi on Saturday, February 15th, 1992 in the Krinjabo village of Sanwi. When he passed they had their own funeral for him.
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Michael didn't talk about the experience much but he was happy to give Ebony/ Jet an insightful interview.
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Lets take it back to right after Off The Wall. Michael wrote scribbles of manifestations on paper saying the industry needed black heroes and he needed to outdo himself to not be ignored. He wanted racism to be stomped out from the root: childhood.
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Michael was thankful for his success with Off The Wall but ever ambitious, he knew he could do more. With Thriller his dreams came true! He broke records and racial barriers, opening up the flow of black artists onto MTV and it holds the record for most album sales to this day.
With the song Black or White and it's controversial short film/ music video, Michael showed cultural appreciation and harmony with all races and also let out his frustration with racism.
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He bursted through flames with images of the KKK to tell the world "I ain't scared of no sheets!"
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He also transformed into a black panther which was a nod to the political Black Panther Party. He smashed racist signs such as "ni***r go home" in anger while dancing.
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Here's Quest Love talking about the meaning behind the panther dance
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The They Don't Care About Us music video truly speaks for itself. Michael points out how the system works against black people. He says " Black male, blackmail, throw the brother in jail."
The message of this 25yr old song is especially relevant in today's climate.
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In Liberian Girl Michael talks of his love for a Liberian woman. At the time there were little to no people in the industry paying homage to African women; calling them beautiful, making them the focus of sensual and appreciative songs, but he did.
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https://twitter.com/DJ_DNA/status/1298576947287662592?s=19
In Remember the Time, Michael was very bold to set his story in Egypt with an all black cast, accurately depicting Egyptians. He also chose Magic Johnson as a part of the cast a year after finding out he had the AIDS virus, which was highly stigmatised at the time.
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In Ghosts, he plays many characters, one of them being "the Mayor" who wants Michael, the "Maestro" to get out of town because he's "a freak." The mayor has an uncanny resemblance to Sherriff H.C. Strider who aided in the corrupt investigation of Emmit Till's muder
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In fact, from a young age, Michael had already realised these things. In this Jet magazine interview from 1979 he talks of his disdain for racism and how important it is that black people never forget their African heritage.
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He also went to Africa when he was younger and spoke of his experience and appreciation in his Autobiography Moonwalk.
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In a 2005 Interview with The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Michael spoke passionately about his love for Africa.
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In 2002, in Harlem Michael gave a speech against racism in the industry.
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Michael will never be forgotten. We will always acknowledge him for all he has done for music and dance, and all that he's done to champion black people. We'll celebrate him as the black hero he wanted to be and was.
#HappyBirthdayMichaelJackson ! Rest in eternal peaceđź•Š
There are many more things Michael has done philanthropicly and artistically but I'll end the thread here.

Also, RIP Chadwick Boseman. You will be dearly missed and never forgotten🕊❤
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