legacy

Christmas time at the McCalmons meant floor to ceiling cleaning. new linens. fancy china. lights in the windows and The Jackson 5 Christmas Album on the stereo.

MJ concert specials meant us all sitting around the tv singing "Heal The World" while a certain little sister made like the screaming fans we were watching and cried.

composing the "Beat It" ringtone on my Nokia, so I could listen to the song instead of answering the calls of stalker friends.

when in doubt, PYT will chase the clouds away.

hbic came to work a month ago. she had a good weekend, she said. something about having a stoop sale, but no one wanted to buy this MJ album cover that she was practically giving away. in what universe?! and so it was mine.

it meant that if you asked my favorite song, I'd give you five. and if someone else asked, that list was likely to change. you can't have just one.

because, at this point, I have no interest in wearing anything that isn't sequined.

but the truth of the matter is that he didn't mean all this to everyone. the outpouring of sympathy from around the world is not coming from everyone around the world. for so many, the media coverage has been exhausting. excessive. exorbitant. for so many, that announcement meant little, if anything. for so many, life kept moving. so, I guess, thanks for hanging in there while the rest of us mourned? thanks for hanging in there while we crippled leading news sites. while we flooded your news feeds with "live" updates as if we were in the Staples Center. as we continue to flood your news feeds with [insert lyric here].

for so many, he was a sideshow. a freak who starred in a three-ring circus. a freak who found comfort in toting around a monkey. a freak who found comfort in sharing his bed with young children.

for so many, the question of legacy has been answered by charges brought against him. acquitted or not. settled or not. he was still accused of doing something wrong. and thus for the world to be brought to tears over his death is utterly ridiculous, they feel.

but to many more, a legacy is not solely defined by the trials one may deal with publicly. that still may be no match for those trials one struggles to negotiate privately. a legacy is not solely defined by mistakes. mistakes that we all make, regardless of whether or not we choose to own up to them.

a legacy is defined by reach. the ability to touch millions of people, only a fraction of which speak your native language. the ability to touch generations of people, only a fraction of which were alive to form quintets with their siblings and imitate your moves while you performed on national television. only a fraction of which were alive for the release of the seminal record of your career. and only a fraction of which were alive to witness your first moonwalk.

*****
when Barack Obama was declared president-elect of the United States, the world looked on and cheered. his win dominated world papers. dominated conversations. his win brought hundreds out to Union Square to join in singing the national anthem together. hundreds took to the streets in Harlem to cry and rejoice about the new day upon us. thousands around the globe stayed up through the night to witness and celebrate our victory. and words escaped me as I felt the weight of the significance of that moment. we're living in a global time, where oceans and time zones are but small challenges to a unifying conscience. upon his election, I was overwhelmed to see the global response. I understood that it was a special person we were bringing into office, but I also felt a sadness-- when again would we witness such a global response, signifying such unity?

as much as we may feel that we need Michael here with us, God must've needed him far more.
*Stevie Wonder*

and though not a time of great jubiliation, but to mourn the loss of a global icon, once more we've come together to cry, celebrate and dance. to make love not war. to bond over a loved one. Perhaps God is using him to bring us together again. to remind us that in our differences, there are similarities. to remind us that within us all there is a humanity that transcends race, gender, class, religion.

the most touching tributes for me have been the ballads. the content of Michael's songs speak volumes for the heart of gold he had. for the human he was. so whether you need to look up the lyrics to "Man In The Mirror" or "We Are The World," or whether you need to turn to CNN to watch the 233rd replay of baby Paris' heartbreaking words to her dad, remember that triumphs and pitfalls aside, all Michael wanted was to bring people together, to make a better place for you and for me.

let's get to it.