The Death of Michael Jackson is the Birth of an Immortal Legacy

Michael Jackson was undoubtedly one of the most famous and controversial figures of the 20^th century. His namesake, sequined glove and ever changing personal appearance were easily as recognizable as that of the Coca Cola logo or any other world wide known fixture of pop culture. He was born into an entertaining family and was a member of the Jackson 5 as a child before branching out into a solo career and subsequently becoming the King of Pop due to his ability to crank out some of the greatest selling albums of all time and sell an astonishing 750 million albums world wide. Although he was primarily a pop icon, he also dabbled in controversial topics such as racism and world hunger.

Although I completely loved Mr. Jackson's music as much as the next person, and was drawn to it as a child. It was his ability to transcend racial barriers that initially made me a fan of his music and led me to follow his successes and failures as they occurred on the world stage for all to see. As a biracial individual, the fact that Michael Jackson was able to not only bridge the divide between black and white entertainment mediums and genres as well as bring the two closer together fascinated me and helped me aspire to be a successful person in life.

Outside of this, the unfortunate chain of events that have led up to the recent passing of Michael Jackson on June 25^th, 2009 at the age of 50 has led me to both simultaneously mourn the loss of the single greatest entertainer in history as well as celebrate his life and the memories I have related to him. I can distinctively remember dressing up as Michael Jackson as a child on Halloween and running around my house with a shiny sequined glove, attempting with all of my might to master the art of the Moon Walk. I was never able to successfully complete the steps to make the dance look effortless but non the less, the memory of myself and my two brothers as small children attempting to moonwalk around the house in our underwear on a Saturday morning still makes me laugh.

This has been a tough week for Hollywood as the saying that "death comes in threes" rang true. This week has seen the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and now the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Undoubtedly, the world as a whole and more importantly, Michael Jackson's millions if not billions of fans would easily be able to fill a lake with the tears they are now shedding following the news of Michael's passing and it can almost be guaranteed that the near future will see one of the most lavish, star studded funerals ever held, a funeral literally fit for a king. Although Michael Jackson's physical body has expired, his soul shall live forever as will his immortal legacy. Long live the King.