Andrew Young reflects on friend Michael Jackson
Andrew Young
When we contacted him Thursday night, Former UN ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young provided some fascinating and unique perspective on his old friend Michael Jackson.
Young had known Jackson since he was a child and a member of the Jackson 5. As CNN’s nonstop coverage of the pop star’s death played in the background, Young paused in his New York City hotel room to reflect on the departed pop icon.
“My children idolized him as a little boy, Young told us. “They all wanted to grow out their afros just like his.”
“He was a man of great vision,” Young recalled. “He was a genius at everything he did. But he paid the price for his genius. When you’re that prominent and that talented, it’s so hard to find true love. I think that’s why he related to children so well.”
Two years ago, Young and another business associate flew to Jackson’s home in Las Vegas. Jackson wanted to discuss a “long-range” business plan that would put artists back in control of their music.
“I was a sounding board,” Young explained. “Through most of his life, he had been exploited and manipulated by adults. He wanted to take back that control. His grasp of the music business blew my mind. He was talking about billion dollar transactions.”
Throughout the two-hour meeting, Jackson’s children played in the room around the adults. Young said he marveled at watching the little boy he first met now playing dad.
“He was a good father. I remember him telling them, ‘Play time is over now. It’s dinner time.’ ”
As Atlanta mayor in the early 1980s, Young had to intercede when Jackson was mistakenly handcuffed by an overzealous security guard at a pricey Peachtree Street antiques store.
“Back then, if you were a young black man dressed in blue jeans, a leather jacket, wearing sunglasses and asking to see a $2,000 bracelet, it was thought you were going to steal something.”
Young sent then-Atlanta City Council President and lawyer Marvin Arrington to diffuse the situation. The charges were dropped once Jackson’s own Los Angeles security guard arrived on the scene and the embarrassed store owners discovered the identity of their famous customer.
Reflected Young: “I’m happy to say that things are much different today with our young rappers. They are welcomed into such stores as good customers.”
Jackson later went to City Hall to thank Young personally.
“He wasn’t bitter,” Young said. “He knew it was all a part of the price of fame. It was really a class conflict of the time.”
Young recalled that Jackson later returned to Atlanta in the early 1990s to work with former President Jimmy Carter on an initiative “to encourage the immunization of all children.”
Jackson with Jimmy Carter who joined forces on a childrens' immunization plan.
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16 comments Add your comment
Ramblin Rick
June 25th, 2009
10:13 pm
go ahead and start defending the child molester black people
keith
June 26th, 2009
12:49 am
rick, go ahead and put on your white robe and hood.
sad brotha
June 26th, 2009
6:10 am
Bottom line… he was a pedophile.
Ramblin Rick
June 26th, 2009
8:14 am
hey keith if u had a son would u let him sleep in a bed with the “icon” MJ?
Lazy-B
June 26th, 2009
11:01 am
Michael needed a woman, not a little boy. *sigh*
keith
June 26th, 2009
11:14 am
hey rick, i do have a son. I prefer my son sleeping in his own bed. Bottom line how would you feel if somebody aired out negative comments on Elvis right after he died? If you had waited a week it might have been acceptable, but your impatience make you look ignorant. Think about it.
OJ
June 26th, 2009
12:14 pm
They did air unflattering comments immediately after Elvis died. They were showing pics of his big ole gut and speaking on his drug abuse. I remember watching it all on the tv’s the had in the drunk-tank. I had just beaten Nicole’s sorry butt for the first time and was taken “down-town.”
bgf
June 26th, 2009
12:16 pm
Thank you Keith! It’s about TIME that the respect that Michael is not getting , what less than 24 hours afthe his shocking dealth , be compared to the late drug and also a man who married a TEENAGER!!be put on BLASS!@! That you ! why is only the GOOD of Elvis and ok the charles angel who was also a druggie! but not hearing non of that on the air waves! yet!! Please allow the KING OF POP!! to at least be treated the same !!WHY NOT! RIP!MJ YOU ARE THE GREATEST!!
FB
June 26th, 2009
12:20 pm
No one has ever proved Michael was with any child in any inappropriate manner, but it was proven that he did not molest the child who brought forth the alligations. You are assume innocent until proven guilty. You can not believe everything you hear.
Ramblin Rick
June 26th, 2009
1:14 pm
FB – he paid his victim 20 million dollars to drop the charges. my god you black people just dont get it. and keith i dont give a damn about elvis …sheesh u shavrzers are dumb.
FB
June 26th, 2009
2:42 pm
Ramblin Rick – who said I was black? If my child had been molested by anyone there is no amount of money that will make me drop charges and not see that person that took my child’s innocence and ruined his life, roit in jail. Frankly, I don’t know anyone else who will. The boy’s parents got exactly what they were after. There was no victim here. I will say it again, it doesn’t matter what color you are you are innocent until proven guilty.
keith
June 26th, 2009
3:47 pm
rick why does this has to be a race issue? I’ve seen more white celebs and fans cry out more than anything. 1 more comment out of u and we’re going to have to meet up and discuss this at a starbucks.
FB
June 26th, 2009
4:31 pm
Keith, you go boy.
Peggy
June 27th, 2009
4:28 pm
I feel like I lost my 1st love. A love that I had not connected with in years cause of personal differences but I still thought of from time to time & smiled. MJ was that first love that I thought of at every class or family reunion cause his presence was always felt through the music. The opening bass line to “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” was always the party starter. Friends & family would always gather around to discuss how BAD my 1st love use to be before all the madness in his life started. No matter how disturbing the later years were, I will always have fond memories of my 1st love.
JimC
June 28th, 2009
6:15 pm
How can Andrew Young forget or overlook that Whacko Jacko was a child molester?
The same way that Young forgets a lot of things, I guess.
Michael Onas
July 5th, 2009
6:42 pm
The fact is that Michael Jackson was simply exploited by parasitic parents who saw him as a perfect target for their greed. He never molester any child, but had felt comfortable amongst them since he had lost his own childhood. Ironically, it was the same children whom he had trust, that were used to exploit him. While I was a resident of Santa Barbara, I recall Michael’s generosity towards underprivileged children in the community. Many were allowed to visit his ranch and use the facilities during the summer when their families could not afford a visit to Disneyland and other amusement parks. Michael would also buy hundreds of tickets to allow children from local schools and Boys and Girls Club to view the first two performances of the Barnum and Bailey circus yearly at the Earl Warren showground. May God rest his soul.