As the world mourns the death of Mega-Superstar and Icon, Michael Jackson, you can’t help but look over his life’s journey and evaluate what his presence in the world has truly meant.  When you think about the quintessential artist, Michael Jackson unquestionably comes to mind.  Professionally, Jackson was a singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, director and businessman.  Over the span of his career, the breath and depth of his work included an array of music styles and genres from Pop, Rock, Disco, Soul and R & B.  

When Jackson’s album Thriller was released it helped to break color barriers on both radio and television.  His genius was so hypnotizing that even MTV had to make concessions.  Walter Yetnikoff, the former president of CBS Records, recalled that MTV would not play “Beat It” or “Billie Jean” because it considered itself a Rock station.  A Los Angeles Times article written in 1991 quoted MTV founder and then CEO Robert Pitman saying that the format of the channel didn’t lend itself to other music genres including R & B and Country music.  Pitman felt that the critics were trying to impose their views on MTV’s Rock fans.  However, Yetnikoff threatened to pull all of his artists other videos from the channel if MTV didn’t play Jackson’s videos.  His videos soon played in heavy rotation on MTV.    This act, unquestionably helped to pave the way for other African American and non-rock artists alike.    

The Reverend Al Sharpton was quoted as saying that “Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oparah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama.”  He also says, “Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television…”  Well considering that in 1947 Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in a Major League baseball game which is 78 years after Major League Baseball was founded in 1869 sort of makes Al Sharpton’s proclamation a bit of an exaggeration. 

Nevertheless, Jackson has played a significant role in helping tobreakdown the color divide.  Early on, the Jackson 5 became a sensation to the world and they did it with their signature afros and bell-bottoms.  Mark Anthony Neal, a professor in Duke University’s African American Studies Department stated that the Jackson 5 “became a cutting-edge example of black cross-over artists.”   Neal also said that Jackson was the first black “bubblegum teen star” in the vein of Monkees singer Davy Jones.   It’s clear to see that Michael Jackson has without question helped to pave the way for an entire generation of black musicians male and female alike.

Even with all that The Jackson 5 and Michael, as a solo artist, has managed to accomplish on behalf of African Americans there is certainly this dichotomy between his private and professional life.  Here we have a black artist who seems to have turned white right before our eyes.   His change in skin color and features, due to numerous plastic surgeries, really troubled a lot of people and left them with feelings of betrayal.  Yet, whether the change in his pigmentation was from Vitiligo, which is what Jackson told Oprah Winfrey during a 1993 interview or was manifested by conscious choice, his impact on black America and people all over the world remains.  The barriers have still been broken, the road has still been paved and the opportunities have become limitless because of his genius.  Has this phenomenon occurred just on the strength of one artist, certainly not!  Yet, we must recognize the power of one and how what we can accomplish and contribute as individuals, as an artist, can impact the world.