July 7, 2009. A crowd of thousands of Michael Jackson fans waited respectfully quite at the Staple's Center in Los Angeles for the memorial to begin. Michael Jackson's brother's - all dressed alike and wearing a single sequin glove - brought in the shining bronze, 14 karat gold plated casket to a choir singing the gospel song, "Soon and Very Soon". For the last time, Michael Jackson took center stage.
Having the reverent feel of a church service, the memorial was both filled with laughs and tears. It began and ended with Pastor Lucious Smith's invocation and prayer.
Celebrity Speakers and Performers
The first speaker to take the stage was Smokey Robinson. He read letters to the family from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela.
Queen Latifah, was the next speaker to take the stage. She said of Jackson, "Michael was the biggest star on earth" and told of how she grew up listening to Jackson's music and trying to imitate his moves. Latifah read a poem written by Maya Angelou for Michael Jackson entitled "We Had Him". Angelou writes in the poem that "despite the anguish of life, he was sheathed in Mother Love", and to all who witnessed the memorial, it was clear that Jackson was in fact loved.
The memorial included performances by Mariah Carey, Lionel Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Jermaine Jackson, Usher, and Shaheen Jafargholi.
Personal stories were shared by Berry Gordy, Magic Johnson, Kobe Byant, Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, Smokey Robinson, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Before singing an emotional rendition of his own song, "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer", Stevie Wonder quietly stated that this was "a moment that I wished I didn't live to see come".
Personal Memories of Michael
Berry Gordy, who through Motown Records launched the likes of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, and countless others into superstardom, called Michael Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived".
Reverend Al Sharpton spoke of how Jackson broke the color barrier and ultimately facilitated the election of a black president. Sharpton, in poignantly and tenderly addressing the Jackson children directly said, "wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with", which brought the entire stadium to their feet.
Brooke Shields, while reminiscing on their years of friendship, had to pause and gather herself several times during her speech. The hurt of losing an old friend was obvious to all. Shields said that to those who knew him, Jackson was "caring, funny, honest, pure, non-jaded".
Heartrending Performances
All of the performances were emotional, but perhaps the most touching was Jermaine Jackson's rendition of "Smile", Michael Jackson's favorite song (written by Charlie Chaplin), which Jermaine painfully sang holding back tears.
At the end of Usher's performance of "Gone Too Soon", the singer/dancer could no longer control his emotion and had to take a second before singing the last line of the Jackson song which was originally written for Ryan White, a young friend of his who died of AIDS.
Paris' Goodbye
The memorial concluded with the family gathered on stage. Both Jermaine and Marlon Jackson spoke of their brother, but it was Michael's daughter Paris that, with a simple statement, cut right through the heart of everyone present as well as all who were watching. Through her tears, the 11 year old said, "my daddy was the best father you could ever imagine. I love him so much". She was immediately comforted by her aunt Janet.
Aside from bringing closure to those who loved him, today's memorial turned Michael Jackson the megastar into Michael Jackson the person. He was called selfless, loving, caring, giving. The humanizing and bringing down to earth of this world renowned talent by those close to him, was likely how Michael would have wanted to be remembered.
Elvira Nieto - Elvira "Elvi" Nieto has had a life-long passion for writing both fiction and non-fiction alike. For two years, 2006-2007, she worked as ...
