Michael Jackson’s children celebrate their father’s birthday in Gary

This week, in honor of Michael Jackson’s birthday, excitement and activity filled Gary, the city where he was born.

Catherine Jackson, who had been able to get some rest from the A.J. court case, traveled to Gary on Wednesday with Michael Jackson’s children to open an exhibition of rare photographs of her son in the city.

The exhibition’s title was “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and it features rare photos of Michael and his brothers during their days as the Jackson 5.

The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday night in the presence of 300 guests after the ribbon-cutting at the Majestic Star Casino, will continue until September 5.

Catherine Jackson, during the ceremony, thanked the casino executives and the mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson, for keeping her son’s memory alive. The casino’s public relations manager said that the exhibition is a window into the lives of the city’s famous sons.

In another event on Thursday, fans gathered in front of the Jacksons’ old home on Jackson Street 2300 to celebrate Michael’s birthday. On that day, Prince, Blanket, T.J. Jackson (his cousin), and his son Royal, as well as Omer Bhatti (Michael’s honorary son and the boys’ brother), were at the house. From behind the fence, they met with the fans.

Paris was the big absence. Two months ago, she attempted suicide by cutting her arm and is currently studying at a boarding school. The news of Michael’s sons’ presence had not been announced in the media, which is why the celebration was calmer than in previous years.

Just like in previous years, the boys welcomed gifts from fans at their father’s old home that day and signed for them. One fan has posted an image of Prince’s signature on the internet. Prince wrote his name as “Michael Jackson” and used his father’s signature. This is his unique way of honoring his father. It’s worth noting that his real name is also Michael, although he uses it less—except in cases where he has something serious to say.

Today, bad news—something that had been whispered about for years—spread through the city: the Michael museum and the Jackson family’s project, which had been a topic of discussion for years, has been halted due to lack of funding. Gary, which was once an industrial hub, gradually lost its glory over the past decades, and many of its residents migrated to other cities. The city struggles with poverty and violence. Residents, who are mostly Black, had hoped that their living conditions would improve with the election of a Black president, but that has not happened yet. The Michael museum and the major arts center have also become victims of the city’s troubled economic situation.

Some fans believe the Michael Jackson Foundation should set up a “Michael” market in this city. One of them, who attended the celebration, says:

“There’s not much to do here. You can’t even buy a T-shirt. The Michael Jackson Foundation should do something so people in this city spend money.”

But over the past four years, the Michael Jackson Foundation has been very busy. They paid off debts, handled legal cases, and recently filed a complaint against the U.S. tax agency in court. Although the foundation has had very good income, problems are far from few. Still, we hope to see the foundation support the plan to build the Michael Jackson museum in Gary as well.

Source: eMJey.com / AP & nwitimes