Back then slave masters controlled the faith of slave children through selling, trading or raping them, today corporations control the faith of our children much the same way. I met Joe Jackson in 1990 when I worked at an electronics retail outlet on Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood, California I had met his manager previously who had promised to introduce us.

I could hardly believe the Jackson Family patriarch was in my store and we were having a conversation. He stood looking confident and spoke softly with the wisdom of an African grandfather.

I felt I had known him all my life, we spoke at length about Africa and he was especially interested in my Nigerian heritage. I would visit his home in Encino on a couple of occasions also to help with setting up the entertainment system he purchased.

I would run into Mr. Jackson again about a year later in Paris at Charles de Gaulle Airport while waiting on a delayed connecting flight to Los Angles. He saw me from a distance and walked towards me with starstruck females hounding him for autographs and photographs.

Mr. Jackson seemed more interested in spending the next couple of hours speaking with me at the airport lounge than tending to his fans, I got the impression he was a bit irritated by the display. This time he spoke about living in America as a black man, how greedy and evil the corporations that run the music industry are.

Years later I would come to truly understand Mr. Jackson’s frustrations as I battle a couple of evil corporations myself. Mr. Jackson spoke about how Michael was manipulated by the industry. You see Mr. Jackson spoke like a man who had lost his only son. He knew it was only a matter of time before they took his life. – @OgbeniAyotunde