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Michael Jackson News / MFWA Oppose Jermaine Jackson's Visit to the Gambia in Africa

« on: May 21, 2010, 11:24:24 PM »

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is calling on Jermaine Jackson, an American singer, leader of the renowned Jackson Five and senior brother of the late revered Michael Jackson, to call off his intended trip to the Gambia to perform on the occasion of President Yahya Jammeh's birthday.

The Gambian leader has invited the American musician to perform in the country to a special audience of 4000 people on May 31, 2010, at his home village of Kanilai as part of activities to mark his birthday. Jermaine Jackson is also billed to speak about Michael Jackson and the family's acclaimed musical career.

We are calling on the renowned musician to halt his planned trip to the Gambia in protest against Jammeh's reign of terror on the people of the Gambia and his complete disregard for law and order, freedom of expression, and the fundamental human rights of the Gambian people.

The 16-year rule of President Jammeh has witnessed several extra-judicial killings, abductions, torture, unlawful arrests and detentions. Although the Gambian constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, there have been numerous instances of police and security forces arbitrarily arresting and detaining citizens without charge or trial. The Gambia under Jammeh has become a cemetery of rights; a sordid paradise of fear.

This impending visit and performance by Jackson will not only constitute an endorsement of Jammeh's tyrannical rule, but also an indictment on the glorious reputation and good name of the Jacksons.

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President Jammeh has over the years adopted ways of exploiting the great works of Alex Haley (of ROOTS fame), to confuse unsuspecting African-Americans, and to gain good but undeserved international publicity, especially in the U.S. We are, therefore, calling on Mr. Jackson to be mindful of Jammeh's ploy to use him for publicity as part of his tactics to cover up of his gross human rights violations.

The names of Michael, Jermaine and the entire Jackson family are too precious to be dragged in the ignominy and disgrace that Jammeh represents for the people of the Gambia and Africa. It is the responsibility of all good people to protect the name of good leaders, in whatever field they may be, from the political and publicity abuse and exploitation of tyrants like President Jammeh.

The MFWA is urging both local and international media, freedom of expression and human rights organizations and advocates to join in this campaign to prevail on Jackson to call off his intended trip to the Gambia.

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Michael Jackson News / Librarians Prove Michael Jackson Was a Rock Star in Academic

« on: May 20, 2010, 11:35:36 PM »

From Texas Tech University's Texas Tech Today website:

Jackson not only changed music and pop culture, but also the way college professors teach in a multitude of disciplines.

No doubt Michael Jackson changed music and pop culture. But the way college professors teach chemistry? What about the fields of engineering and psychology?

A new bibliographic guide to academic literature compiled by two Texas Tech librarians shows that Michael Jackson’s influence stretched beyond pop culture into the often dusty halls of academia.

Their list of scholarly papers and peer-reviewed articles, culled from more than 100 databases for a special issue of The Journal of Pan African Studies, found the King of Pop referenced in psychology, medical, chemistry, mass communications and even engineering journals.

Yet “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’: MJ in the Scholarly Literature: A Selected Bibliographic Guide” merely scratched the surface of scholarly content related to Jackson, noted Texas Tech Associate Librarians Susan Hidalgo and Rob Weiner. They called the breadth of Jackson’s influence truly astounding.

Read a copy of the article. (PDF link)

“I was surprised by a lot of what I read – I just thought I knew Michael Jackson,” said Hidalgo, also head of access services for the Texas Tech University Library.

Hidalgo and Weiner said they avoided works they deemed sensationalist, saying such literature would defeat the purpose of honest investigation.

Instead, they focused on peer-reviewed or scholarly works with unique Jackson content that might shed light on the way people view larger-than-life celebrities – including one of the most sensational and contentious figures ever to grace the cover of a tabloid.

For instance, researchers used Jackson to critique the media’s handling of criminal cases. A 911 call made by Jackson prompted an article in Fire Engineering journal, while a British Medical Journal piece written after Jackson’s death discussed ethical issues that arise when a patient is more powerful than the attending physician.

One chemistry professor argued that reframing popular songs such as “Billie Jean” could help students understand difficult chemistry concepts.

“I knew that Jackson permeated pop culture, but academics can be kind of snooty about what they choose to study,” Weiner said. “The fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson’s influence.”


Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, (806) 742-2136.


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