Naturally Me

Michael Jackson cast 80 members of the Los Angeles’ Crips and Bloods for the music video “Beat It” in hopes to foster peace between them. 

…did it work??

The short answer is no.

The long answer is that it introduced the idea of a truce in the minds of younger gang members on both sides. They grew up to lead both the 1988 peace summit (which included a brief ceasefire) and the 1992 truce. The truce, and the Rodney King Riots which coincidentally started the very next day, fundamentally changed gang life in LA, making the streets safer, dropping the murder rate, and increasing illegal drug profits for about a decade.

He was fucking wonderful and did wonderful things for people without ever asking for credit for it.

Photo: Michael and some Crips!

MJ is a great example of how black celebrities try to use their opportunities and fame to help the black community. I want modern black artists to act like him.