With his musical talent, he helped us transcend racial barriers. Michael was the embodiment of love to me and millions of other fans across the globe who grew up wanting nothing more than to love him back. But Michael carried forth to help break barriers and bridge understandings. We felt the movement for change had ended. Kennedy and so many who encouraged us to fight for freedom and equality and to dream big. Michael Jackson and his amazing family came of age when many of us were still grieving over the tragic loss of the Rev. With the sudden death of Michael Joseph Jackson, that part of my childhood is definitively over but never forgotten. When he sang, we danced the joy of freedom. We swayed to his rhythm and felt liberated. We threw away our hot irons and let it all go. Or as my Aunt Pinkney once said: "Watch how Michael dance. My brother Teddy Man and I often performed at parties pretending to dance like Michael. I bought every song and album by Michael Jackson that I could afford, and I still treasure all my original unscratched vinyl and those tunes now on my iPod. I also saw him in concert a few times, including in my childhood in New Orleans, Louisiana, when my mother, Jean, allowed me to skip a family vacation to Houston, Texas, just to see the man-child who had captivated me so much. Fortunately, I did meet him once backstage before he performed at the opening ceremony for the Clinton-Gore inaugural event in 1993. And I knew something could happen if only we could meet. There were nine Jackson kids - enough boys for my other siblings to allow me to dream of meeting Michael one day. That was back then, and to this day, I treasure those memories. We wanted to dance with him, and we fought over who among us he would want the most. Back then, some of us thought we could even marry Michael all of us just wanted to be close to him. And he was part of a changing cultural landscape in the '70s, '80s and early '90s. Michael was a healer who occupied a space in this universe no other singer or artist will ever dare fill. We loved the words behind the music because it formed a bridge that helped us transcend barriers and find our common humanity. We played his songs over and over - at weddings and graduation. Many of us have our memories of Michael Jackson. How many kids waited around on their 10th birthday to watch him and those other handsome men perform on "the Ed Sullivan Show" back in 1969. In the words of the poet Maya Angelou, who wrote a special poem for this day, "We had him." A celebration of the life and legacy of pop icon Michael Jackson, his musical genius, his generosity and his humanity, and the love he shared with millions of people throughout the world. (CNN) - Tuesday was a day of celebration.
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