By Odeisel
So it was time to say goodbye. We all turned on our televisions, and got on Twitter and a global community around the world gathered at public meeting places, churches and cyberspace to say goodbye to the single most powerful force of the past 30 years.
Not hyperbole. Think about it for a second. Barack Obama was the first American president to visit Russia in decades. Michael was there. In places full of strife and absent of diplomacy, Michael was there. In homes that harbored hatred bred of ignorance yet strangely held amity for his image he was the first Black experience for much of America. For AIDS research, cancer research and other medical causes, he was a savior.
His memorial was a public as his life. Just as grand and shrouded in mystery right until the opening remarks. Who was going to attend? Who would be conspicuous by their absence? Would there be a circus atmosphere (incidentally the circus would actually be there the next day)?
In the end, because of the effort of his family and their determination to mute the pomp and circumstance, the memorial was just about pitch perfect. It was a celebration of his life, a tribute to his power, and mourning of his passing.
Smokey, Berry, and Stevie were there to represent the prodigy that he was. Brooke Shields spoke to the person and the solace she took in his friendship, while Magic spoke to his normalcy and how down to earth he actually was.
Al Sharpton, in perhaps his finest hour in front of mainstream America staunchly defended his life and introduced Michael’s social importance in the progression of the Black American presence in this country, while Bernice King and Martin III spoke to his supreme ambition and provided an example of how you lose someone of that magnitude and steel ahead with grace.
John Mayer honored us by not attempting to vocalize a song that only Michael could execute. Usher chose to sing a ballad rather than imitate the inimitable. Mariah gave what her voice would allow while the great Lionel Richie took us back to church. Stevie his brother in music and Jermaine his brother in life moved us to tears. Jennifer Hudson overcame her own personal tragedy to help a famous family through theirs.
Shaheen Jafargholi reminded us of how captivating the brilliance of a precocious child can be. Congress was there to speak the the magnitude of his existence. There would be no dancing on this day.
But most important, today was about a very public family’s very public goodbye to the most public of persons. His brothers were uniformed in shiny one-glovedness. Shades covered eyes reddened with the sorrow of loss. Joe was held silent by the rest of the family and the camp he elicited in previous interviews were held in check. Marlon spoke with love and mentioned his long departed twin brother. And the ceremony was emotionally ended with the tears of a daughter no longer veiled. Exposed to the world on this most tragic of stages to bring the ultimate reality to a life so often represented by fantasy.
You don’t have to excuse the person he was. You don’t have to honor his music to avoid talking about the man. Michael Jackson was a phenomenal man. A fine human being. A humanitarian who gave not for attention or tax breaks, but for the improvement of planet Earth. His imperfection and controversy when weighed against his triumphs giving are certainly eclipsed.
Michael Jackson was not an entertainer. Entertainment was his vehicle. To place him atop the pyramid of great performers is a great compliment. However it pales in comparison to his towering presence on this planet; his drive to prevent hunger and poverty,to cure cancer and AIDS, and to further the Black experience. Michael Jackson was a defender of the weak, a soother of souls and a father to his three children. Let that be his epitaph. Leave him alone. Let him rest in peace.
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