Michael Jackson's Top Five Inspirational Songs

When Black children were being murdered in the 1980s in Atlanta, Georgia and while police were unable to solve the mystery with no leads, Michael Jackson stepped up to the plate. This R&B and pop legend donated a quarter of a million dollars in profits from a Jackson 5 Atlanta performance to underprivileged Atlanta kids, according to Movie Superstars magazine. So it was no surprise to me when Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) presented a proposal during Michael Jackson's memorial service to discuss with the House of Representatives for him to be acknowledged as a global humanitarian.

Michael Jackson has donated $1.5 million to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children; $600,000 to the United Negro College Fund; donated concert tickets to underprivileged children along with a plethora of other giving. And Michael Jackson also gave his listeners these same loving gifts through song that made us reevaluate our own lives.

Here are Michael Jackson's top five most inspirational songs:

Black and White: Michael Jackson had already crossed a boundary by having his music aired on MTV in 1983, which was uncommon since MTV only showed few Blacks, such as Tina Turner, Jon Butcher Axis, The Bus Boys and Donna Summer. Of course the video that was shown was "Billie Jean" and less heavy than this song, but Jackson was unwavering about fighting the color line in music, relationships, and business. And although he's talking about a romantic relationship in this song, the theme is stop basing people on skin complexion. "Black and White" came out later than "Billie Jean," but he'd probably been humming this tune all along.

Man in the Mirror: Before we can judge others, Jackson was telling himself (and everyone else) to self-evaluate how we're living our own lives.

Earth Song: If this isn't a song that the environmentally friendly, peace-loving people can vibe to, I don't know what is. Jackson covered everything from children dying from war to endangerment of elephants. There's a reason he had animals that were adamantly taken care of in Neverland.

Scream: Fans everywhere gasped when they heard the lyrics "Stop fucking with me" come out of Michael Jackson's usually shy mouth (until he's singing). But it was a pleasure to hear him stand up for himself, tell folks to mind their business, and even better when this song mentioned racial profiling from a young man who was not the real robber. This song was timely for that year and now, with people being wrongfully accused of crimes they didn't commit, especially Black men. However, it was the first song that he performed with Janet Jackson through dance, song, and in a video, and two legends in one video was outstanding.

Heal the World: Once again, Michael Jackson is telling us to pay attention to self, but not just to improve ourselves but for the people around us who are affected by our actions.

Jackson's career and personality were inspiration in itself, but these songs just scratch the surface. However, Michael Jackson never made a meaningless song throughout his entire career. There's a reason he went diamond and it's called consistency.