Michael Jackson’s Legacy: Fifteen Years After His Death, His Influence Continues

By Stacy M. Brown | NNPA (NNPA) – In what may have been his greatest triumph, a very frail and emotionally tested Michael Jackson walked out of a Santa Maria, Calif., courthouse on a sunny June day in 2005, having beaten 13 charges related to allegedly molesting a young cancer patient. As he slowly walked toward a waiting caravan of black SUVs, the King of Pop appeared almost unfazed, even dazed, by what had just occurred. He was exonerated but still drawn with a nearly puzzled look as many cheering fans stood by, one having released white doves signifying innocence. Joseph Jackson, the patriarch of the world-famous Jackson family, appeared to nudge his son’s arm upwards, helping him acknowledge the loyal fans from everywhere. Jackson Family Patriarch Joseph Jackson/wikimedia commons A reporter asked this journalist, “Where do you see Michael Jackson in five years?” The response was “Dead.” Unfortunately, almost four years to the date, that prognostication came true. Jackson had died of an overdose of the sedative propofol. He was 50, and a stunned world couldn’t conceive that it had lost the biggest pop music entertainer ever to grace the planet. At the time of his death, he was...