The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies | ISSN: 2452-0497
Dynamic, Influential, Inclusive, Cultural, Explorative, Unique
Abstract: In this ninth episode, part II of the MJAS Exclusive, Elizabeth and Karin and their guests, fellow academics, Lisha McDuff and Roberta Meek, continue the discussion on Michael Jackson’s art, resonance and cultural impact alongside the late musician, Prince. REFERENCE AS: Merx, Karin, Elizabeth Amisu, Roberta Read More …
Abstract: In this sixth episode, Elizabeth and Karin discuss the 2016 documentary, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to ‘Off The Wall’, directed by Spike Lee. Their discussion begins with Lee’s body of work, and how it connects with this particular documentary, and go on to explore the use of Read More …
Abstract: January 2016 discusses the cover-reveal of ‘The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife‘ by Elizabeth Amisu. Column by Elizabeth Amisu, MA, PGCE, editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Read More …
Placed with permission of the author Raven Woods
In 1926, poet and essayist Langston Hughes wrote a short but stirring piece that became a manifesto for the Harlem Renaissance, the great cultural movement that brought Black art, culture, and music to prominence in American society. Last spring, when I assigned this essay to one of my American Lit classes, it occurred to me that much of what Hughes wrote in 1926 could also apply to many of the trials and tribulations that Michael Jackson would endure as an African-American artist more than sixty years later. Here is Langston Hughes’s essay. The sections that are highlighted are my emphasis, as these are important points that I will return to later when addressing the essay’s relevance to Michael Jackson: