MJ, as many young people call him, is a musician with a difference. He is the writer of the Earth Song, a number I believe he should have been here to sing at the opening of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
What about bleeding the earth? Can’t we feel its wounds? What about nature’s worth? These are some of the questions he poses in this song. He surely got the point, sustainability.
Michael Jackson has supported over 30 charity organizations either with monetary donations or by participating in their silent auctions. The charities involved include AIDS Project L.A., American Cancer Society, BMI Foundation, Inc., Childhelp USA, United Negro College Fund (UNCF), YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw, The Sickle Cell Research Foundation and Volunteers of America. In 1992 Michael also founded his humanitarian organization, the 'Heal the World Foundation,' that is dedicated to improving the lives of children around the globe.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born to Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958. He was the seventh of nine children. Michael began his musical career at the age of five as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who played local clubs and bars around Indiana and the Eastern USA.
The year 1985 saw the emergence of an international anthem with the release of the song 'We Are The World' which was written by Michael and Lionel Richie, and performed by 44 of the world's most popular stars (Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, etc.). ‘We Are The World raised money for 'USA For Africa', a charity dedicated to helping starving people in Africa.
1995 saw Michael record a fifth solo album, titled 'HIStory', which contained 15 new songs in addition to an entire disc dedicated to his greatest hits, including Heal the World and Earth Song. He has sold well over 200 million albums around the globe and performed on every continent. He has led the world, creating the precedent that all artists and directors go by when creating music videos, and he continues to stimulate the entertainment industry with his innovative and educative music.
Perhaps this music could offer a sure way of spreading the sustainable development gospel. Today, beside the Summit delegates, not many a passer-by on the streets of Johannesburg will tell you the meaning of sustainability straight off.
If all young people in Johannesburg will join me at the end of the Summit to sing Michael Jackson’s Heal the World then we certainly will enrich the lives of many people that have not been part of the Summit.
And the song lyrics will help to spread the message of sustainability.
Happy belated birthday and long live MJ!
© GLOBAL YOUTH REPORTERS PROGRAMME
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