Posted on 06/30/2009 12:00:01 PM PDT by lewisglad
At the height of his stardom, Michael Jackson shot to the top of the charts around the world with the sanguine message, "It don't matter if you're black or white."
In his death, as in his life, the reality has been more gray.
Cultural institutions of Black America -- from Harlem's Apollo Theater to the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards in Los Angeles -- witnessed an outpouring of grief since the King of Pop died Thursday.
But for some residents in South-Central Los Angeles, Jackson leaves a deeply complicated legacy -- an African-American who tore down racial barriers with his phenomenal success but also came off as uncomfortable in his own skin.
"Michael Jackson was loved and will be missed around the world. But for black people, the views are mixed because he changed the color of his skin," said Bill Layne, 61, as he waited for a haircut.
Jackson said he suffered from vitiligo, a disorder involving a loss of pigmentation. But Jackson faced constant accusations that he bleached his skin, a practice uncommon in the United States but better known in parts of Africa, notably Ghana.
Lawrence Tolliver, who has run a barber-shop in South-Central Los Angeles for four decades, noted that Jackson's two ex-wives were white and said his three children did not appear to have any African blood.
"There's nothing wrong with that -- there are black folks who do different things -- but it's just further proof he didn't like being who he was," Tolliver said as he worked on a customer with an electric razor and barber brush.
"I don't know why; maybe it's tough being famous. But when he saw 'the man in the mirror,' he didn't like who he saw," Tolliver said, referring to the title of one of Jackson's hits.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Apparently, MJ’s skin color bothered him more than anyone else.
I think his relationship (or lack of one) with his father literally colored his world.
Don’t care, he’s about to be worm food now. Do you think they will bury Elephant Man with his face on or off?
Thought this was gonna be about those mythical far-right white supremacists who live somewhere in eastern Tennessee, and live to terrorize and oppress the black man.
"His color doesn't look very good."
It would be difficult to find anyone who hated black skin more than Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson’s father really must have done a number on him. Coming from an abusive father myself I can sympathize with him,it’s just something that scars your soul. As talented as he was he was also messed up. I pray for him.
Aerica : Where else can a black man grow up and turn into a white woman and make millions of dollars doing it???
It must cause noses to shrink and become pointy too.
For some who see EVERYTHING through the lens of race,
his color really did matter.
I don’t think he hated his color so much as just himself.
Most of us couldn’t tell, so it probably didn’t matter.
Imagine, Jackson and Obama as the Harlequin twins, one raging to free the inner whiteself — the other determined to bury it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.