NMAC Mourns Michael Jackson
June 26, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Circe J. Gray Le Compte,
Director of Communications
Telephone: (202) 483-NMAC (6622) ext. 309; (202) 352-7240
E-mail: communications@nmac.org
NMAC Mourns the Passing of Michael Jackson
June 26, 2009 – Washington, DC
– The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) was
saddened to learn of Michael Jackson’s passing on June 25. At the height of his
popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s, Jackson
leveraged his considerable talent and fame to address civil rights issues,
including HIV/AIDS.
Jackson’s
HIV/AIDS efforts began in part with his participation in the 1984 song
collaboration, “We Are the World.” Monies from the project supported hunger,
poverty and AIDS relief programs in Africa and the U.S. Soon after, he, along with Sir
Elton John and other celebrities, befriended Ryan White, who gained media attention for fighting his expulsion from school for having AIDS. Jackson supported White’s AIDS advocacy
efforts, and honored the teenager’s memory with "Gone too Soon," released shortly after his death in 1990.
In 1992, during President Bill Clinton’s inaugural gala, Jackson famously pressed the newly elected
leader to increase funding for AIDS research and care. “The early 1990s were a
scary time. So many people were dying every week, and there were no treatments on
the horizon,” says Paul A. Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director. “But here was the
infamously shy ‘King of Pop’ asking the President to fight AIDS in front of
millions of people. He knew that that people would listen to him. And they
did.”
Despite controversy in recent years, Jackson's continued to support numerous charities and humanitarian programs, including the Nelson Mandela
Children's Fund; the Red Cross; UNESCO; and the United Negro College Fund. He
also established the Heal the World Foundation.
“Michael Jackson has left an indelible mark on the
world, as an artist and as a champion for the rights of those living with
HIV/AIDS to be treated with dignity and respect,” says Ravinia Hayes-Cozier,
NMAC’s Director of Government Relations and Public Policy. “While others around
the world turned their backs on people with AIDS, Jackson was there to call them friend and
lend his fame to raise awareness. The AIDS community will be forever grateful.”
About NMAC
National
Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has advanced its mission, “to develop
leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS”
since 1987 through individualized capacity building assistance; technical
assistance trainings; public policy education programs; national and regional
conferences; treatment and research education programs; online and printed
resource materials; and a website: http://www.nmac.org/.
The agency also serves as a membership association for its constituents AIDS
service organizations and minority faith- and community-based organizations
delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color and advocates on their
behalf in Washington, DC.
###
