Michael Jackson’s Greatest Legacy Was His Philanthropy, Kindness And Generosity

billyworld99

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Michael Jackson's Greatest Legacy Was His Philanthropy, Kindness And Generosity
by Christopher May

Most people think of Michael Jackson's greatest legacy as his dynamic and powerful performances in both dance and song. Music and entertainment are what Michael Jackson is best known for amongst most people around the world. His tremendous originality and creativity in dance and video performances changed forever the genre of rock 'n roll music videos. His concerts were legendary because of the fire works, theatrical presentation as well as the richly soulful music.

If you look for a common thread about Michael Jackson's character from those who know him the best you'll hear words like, "he was very sweet and loving", "he was a kind person", "he went out of his way to help others". Michael was genuinely interested in the welfare of others as much as in his career. This is a sign of a great soul, of a servant of humanity and a positive person. Michael Jackson was not only an outstanding performer, Michael Jackson was an outstanding human being.

If you look at the sum total of his life then will be be obvious that for much of his career he was a active humanitarian, philanthropist and a very generous person with his time and money. He went out of the way to help other people, sometimes is was entertainers but often times and sometimes just the ordinary person.

Even before the musical fund raiser 'We Are The World' was put together by Michael, he was constantly finding ways to reach out and help other people. 'We Are The World' was primarily designed to raise money for aid work in Africa. Michael Jackson was also involved in visiting children in hospitals, spending time with young cancer patients through the Make A Wish Foundation, and contributed to numerous other charities on a regular basis.

He had a special place in his heart for children perhaps because his childhood was lacking so much joy and playfulness that most children experience. This is what prompted him to create Neverland Ranch to proivde a place to invite kids there by the busloads. He wanted to bring people happiness and remind him of the good things in life.

For Michael Jackson, bringing happiness to young people perhaps was also a way for him to heal his own childhood wounds. He recognized that he could make a contribution in the lives of others in some small way. This felt good. Michael was often called an "innocent" person, someone who trusted others while choosing to see the good in those he connected with.

There's a lesson for us in Michael Jackson's legacy. Each of us can do so much for one another other to bring greater well-being, deeper happiness, reach out with an act of kindness or compassion. We can all learn from his example to extend ourselves to heal the world one person at a time.

Sometimes people ask what can I do to make a difference? If you look at the life of Michael Jackson's life the answer is simple. Everywhere you turn you can bring benefit to someone in some way.

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thank u for this gr8 article .this is his true legacy ,people need to remember.
miss u Michael on each passing day.:cry:
 
There's a lesson for us in Michael Jackson's legacy. Each of us can do so much for one another other to bring greater well-being, deeper happiness, reach out with an act of kindness or compassion. We can all learn from his example to extend ourselves to heal the world one person at a time.

Well said.
 
This article has made me cry so much. God I miss him so much. He was always seeing the good in people no matter what they did and gave so much of himself and his money to charity. With 20% of his estate going to childrens charities he still gives even though he's not here anymore. I love you Mike xxxx
 
I thought there was a more recent thread on this - Michael's philanthropy - but if there is I can't find it. Needed to post this little item I just found. Can't remember off the top of my head but I don't think I've ever seen a journalist connect Michael and the ideas of W.E.B. DuBois. Quite thought-provoking.

Really interesting that it was written in 1988.


 
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I thought there was a more recent thread on this - Michael's philanthropy - but if there is I can't find it. Needed to post this little item I just found. Can't remember off the top of my head but I don't think I've ever seen a journalist connect Michael and the ideas of W.E.B. DuBois. Quite thought-provoking.

Really interesting that it was written in 1988.


Omg, this article is fantastic!!! Wow. It is so wonderful to see an article that focuses on who he truly is. This makes me almost want to cry. I love this so much. Thank you for sharing ❤️
 
I thought there was a more recent thread on this - Michael's philanthropy - but if there is I can't find it. Needed to post this little item I just found. Can't remember off the top of my head but I don't think I've ever seen a journalist connect Michael and the ideas of W.E.B. DuBois. Quite thought-provoking.

Really interesting that it was written in 1988.


"Whether Michael Jackson is acquainted with the writings of W.E.B. DuBois is anyone's guess."

Hah, I find that bit rather funny, because Michael was extremely well-read and some of what he read was quite obscure, sometimes even unexpected (though this instance wouldn't be, IMO; I'd be more surprised if he hadn't read anything by DuBois). But for instance, one of the books he had read was "How To Eat To Live" by Elijah Muhammad of all people. (Though given Michael's interest in healthy/clean eating, it's at the same time not entirely unexpected either.)

What I'm getting at is that a lot of what he read was black literature. For all the jokes/vitriol/speculation people had about his changing skin tone (which he couldn't help anyway, as we all know), he had never forgotten, abandoned, and/or dismissed his black origins. In fact a lot of his artistry, expression, worldview, even the way he talked at times was very "black". I could write a whole other post about it, honestly... Maybe I just might.
 
"Whether Michael Jackson is acquainted with the writings of W.E.B. DuBois is anyone's guess."

Hah, I find that bit rather funny, because Michael was extremely well-read and some of what he read was quite obscure, sometimes even unexpected (though this instance wouldn't be, IMO; I'd be more surprised if he hadn't read anything by DuBois). But for instance, one of the books he had read was "How To Eat To Live" by Elijah Muhammad of all people. (Though given Michael's interest in healthy/clean eating, it's at the same time not entirely unexpected either.)

What I'm getting at is that a lot of what he read was black literature. For all the jokes/vitriol/speculation people had about his changing skin tone (which he couldn't help anyway, as we all know), he had never forgotten, abandoned, and/or dismissed his black origins. In fact a lot of his artistry, expression, worldview, even the way he talked at times was very "black". I could write a whole other post about it, honestly... Maybe I just might.
I had the same thought! Like, of course he is familiar. C'mon lol. But whatever. Hey, at least they are giving him credit for the work he did! I love this article so much because it actually treats him like the remarkable human he was and doesn't give into the pressure I'm sure existed to treat him horribly. But your point is well taken and I agree.
 
I had the same thought! Like, of course he is familiar. C'mon lol. But whatever. Hey, at least they are giving him credit for the work he did! I love this article so much because it actually treats him like the remarkable human he was and doesn't give into the pressure I'm sure existed to treat him horribly. But your point is well taken and I agree.
Oh you're right of course, they probably simply weren't aware. I just thought it was funny given the Michael Jackson I've read, watched, and learned about as a fan. He'd sometimes buy entire bookstore inventories, LOL. What a man...
 
Hah, I find that bit rather funny, because Michael was extremely well-read and some of what he read was quite obscure, sometimes even unexpected (though this instance wouldn't be, IMO; I'd be more surprised if he hadn't read anything by DuBois). But for instance, one of the books he had read was "How To Eat To Live" by Elijah Muhammad of all people. (Though given Michael's interest in healthy/clean eating, it's at the same time not entirely unexpected either.)
I wonder how much of this was known at the time, though. Michael didn't do many interviews in the '80's. He did them less and less as the decade went on. The last magazine interview he did in the UK was 1982. People would interview him and ask all the stupid questions that we know about. Or they would ask about his music - meaning endless questions about BJ and Thriller and not much else. I'd be surprised if it was widely known how culturally sophisticated Michael really was. How much of this stuff was known in his later years and how much has been revealed in the years since his death? I have no idea but this type of thing wasn't standard knowledge about Michael. His fans might have known this stuff but I'm pretty sure the wider community didn't know any of this. Not in 1988 which is why I was so amazed by the piece even being written at all let alone in the way that it was.

What I'm getting at is that a lot of what he read was black literature. For all the jokes/vitriol/speculation people had about his changing skin tone (which he couldn't help anyway, as we all know), he had never forgotten, abandoned, and/or dismissed his black origins. In fact a lot of his artistry, expression, worldview, even the way he talked at times was very "black".
I don't think people knew this, though. I'm sure most people just didn't know. And those that did, either they didn't believe it or they didn't want to acknowledge it bc it's SO much more fun and clever and 'kewl' to poke fun at Michael and use him as the global whipping post. Since that seems to have been the role he was meant to play, as far as I can tell.
 

Marsha Ambrosious comments on Michael returning song publishing rights to Little Richard

1m 3s

Disclaimer - this video dates from 2015. There is a lipstickalley.com post dating from 2018 which claims that this never happened. I'll have to go and do a bit of digging.
 
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