As the rain cleared Tuesday morning, five people walked out of the Jacksons Family Home at the corner of Jackson Street and 23rd Avenue in Gary.
The five people and Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said Tuesday, on the 15th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, that the city and the Jackson family are working on projects to commemorate the Jackson family’s legacy.
Four Illinois residents and a Jackson family representative had a meeting at the home about a project that will focus on “building some different energy” around the historic home, said Rita Lee, an Illinois resident and music business executive who attended the meeting.
What they didn’t realize, until seeing the plaque near the gate, is they held the meeting at the Jacksons Family Home on the 15th anniversary of the death of Jackson, known as the king of pop and the youngest member of the Jackson Five, Lee said.
“The only day we could come was today,” Lee said.
“Did you do this on purpose?,” Lee asked Johnny Mullins, an Illinois resident who has worked on projects like various Hard Rock casinos and Trump Tower, with a laugh. When coordinating the meeting, Lee said Mullins was only available Tuesday so they made it work.
Lee declined to give specifics about the project or how the group knows the family.
“The Jacksons want to give back to Gary and we want to help them with that,” Lee said. “We’re aware of them like everybody else. You know the Jacksons, you know the rules.”
Melton said in a statement that as mayor he is “constantly working with the family to explore projects within the City of Gary” to honor the Jackson family’s legacy.
“We are proud to call Gary home of the most iconic artist in the world, Michael Jackson. He left us too soon, and his memory will forever echo through our hearts,” Melton said.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol overdose, a surgical anesthetic. Dr. Conrad Murray, his personal physician who prescribed the medication to help Jackson sleep, was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Mullins said he remembers driving down DuSable Lake Shore Drive in Chicago when he heard on the radio that Jackson died. Mullins remembered canceling his meetings for the day and just talking to his friends and family about Jackson.
Lee said she was in Los Angeles when she heard the news of Jackson’s death. Lee said she’ll never forget all the helicopters flying around Los Angeles that day.
“He went to be with the musical Gods,” Lee said.
The house, with white siding, a black front door and a black roof, is surrounded by a fence where people have left locks, bracelets and even a white glove, a signature part of Jackson’s style.
Inside, the house has a warm, inviting ambiance, Lee said, with family photos throughout. But it’s surprising to think about Jackson, his parents and his eight siblings growing up in the house, she said.
Andre Haynes, a Chicago resident and real estate investor who attended the meeting in the Jacksons Family Home, said the home is the beginning of Jackson’s legacy.
“Look at where he came from and look at what he did,” Haynes said. “There are no limits. It’s all mindset.”
Jackson left a profound legacy on the music industry that resonated throughout pop culture, Lee said.
“His was the seed that harvests in others,” Lee said. “If you can have that effect on people, that’s what it’s about.”
Candice Fallon, of Australia, came to the house with her mother-in-law Gloria Fallon, who said she recently moved to the Miller Beach area of Gary from Illinois. Candice Fallon said she wanted to come to the house because of its history.
“We remember 15 years ago like it was yesterday,” Candice Fallon said.
Kenyada Boyd, of Springfield, Illinois, said she and her co-worker Pamela Williams drove to the house Monday to see it. When they noticed that others left locks on the fence, they decided to stop by Tuesday to place their own lock, Boyd said.
They were shocked when they realized they returned to the house on the 15th anniversary of Jackson’s death, Boyd said.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. Fifteen years, that’s a long time. But people keep him alive every day,” Boyd said.
Williams said she was glad to see that the house has been maintained and kept in its original form. She was a big Jackson fan, Williams said, and she admired his ability to be himself within the industry.
“He’s inspiring. He did his thing,” Williams said. “He followed his own trend.”
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
