[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 600 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 600
Honoring an American legend and musical icon.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 26, 2009
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas (for herself and Ms. Watson) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring an American legend and musical icon.
Whereas Michael Jackson was not only an accomplished recording and performing
artist, he was a noted humanitarian;
Whereas Michael Jackson began his stellar recording career as the featured
member of ``The Jackson 5'', which was the first act in recorded history
to have their first four major label singles ``I Want You
Back'',``ABC'',``The Love You Save'', and ``I'll Be There'', reached the
top of the American charts;
Whereas the internationally recognized ``Thriller'' released in 1982, which
became a smash hit yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21
million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.
It was a monumental moment in music history;
Whereas Michael Jackson was labeled ``The King of Pop'', Jackson's music is
internationally recognized and critically acclaimed;
Whereas Michael Jackson was one of the few artists to have been inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice;
Whereas in the early 1980s, Michael Jackson became a dominant figure in popular
music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong
crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on
MTV, such as ``Beat It'', ``Billie Jean'' and ``Thriller''--widely
credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into
an art form--helped bring the relatively new channel to fame;
Whereas, on January 10, 1984, Michael Jackson visited the unit for burn victims
at Brotman-Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, and demonstrated his
concern with people suffering from grievous injuries;
Whereas, on April 9, 1984, David Smithee, a 14-year-old boy suffering from
cystic fibroses was invited to Michael's home, in response to a dying
request to meet Michael. David passed away 7 weeks later;
Whereas, on April 14, 1984, Michael Jackson was single handedly responsible for
equipping a 19-bed-unit at Mount Sinai New York Medical Center. This
center is now a critical part of the T.J. Martell Foundation for
leukemia and cancer research;
Whereas, on July 5, 1984, during the Jackson's press conference at Tavern On The
Green, Michael announced that his portion of the earnings from the
Victory Tour would be donated to three charitable organizations: The
United Negro College Fund, Camp Good Times, and the T.J. Martell
Foundation;
Whereas, on July 14, 1984, after the first concert of the Victory Tour, Michael
met 8 terminally ill children backstage;
Whereas, on December 13, 1984, Michael visited the Brotman Memorial Hospital,
where he had been treated when he was burned during the producing of a
Pepsi commercial. He subsequently donated all the money he received from
Pepsi, $1.5 million, to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children;
Whereas, on January 28, 1985 Michael and 44 other artists met to record ``We Are
The World'', written by Michael and Lionel Ritchie, a project devoted to
fighting global hunger. The proceeds of this record were donated to the
starving people in Africa;
Whereas in 1986, Michael set up the ``Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship
Fund''. This $1.5 million fund is aimed toward assisting students
majoring in performance art and communications, with money given each
year to students attending a UNCF member college or university;
Whereas, on February 28, 1986, after having had a heart-transplant, 14-year-old
Donna Ashlock from California received a call from Michael Jackson. He
had heard that she was a fan. Michael invited Donna to his home
following her recovery;
Whereas, on September 13, 1987, Michael supported a campaign against racism. He
made every effort to publicly support NAACP, in the fight against
discrimination of African-American artists;
Whereas in October 1987, at the end of his ``Bad Tour'', Michael donated
personal items to UNESCO for a charitable auction. The proceeds of his
donation were allocated for the education of children in developing
countries;
Whereas, on February 1, 1988 The Song ``Man In the Mirror'' entered the charts.
The proceeds from the sales of this record went directly and exclusively
to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer
from Cancer;
Whereas, on March 1, 1988, at a press conference held by his sponsor Pepsi,
Michael presented a $600,000 check to the United Negro College Fund;
Whereas on April 1988, Michael Jackson ensured that free tickets to three
concerts in Atlanta, Georgia, were specifically set aside for the Make a
Wish Foundation;
Whereas, on May 22, 1988, Michael visited cancer-stricken children in the
Bambini-Gesu Children's Hospital in Rome. He signed autographs and gave
away sweets and records to the young patients. He also announced his
monetary donation of 100,000 pounds to the hospital;
Whereas, on July 16, 1988, Michael met the Prince of Wales and his wife Diana,
where he donated 150,000 pounds for the Prince's Trust, and a check of
100,000 pounds for the children's hospital at Great Ormond Street;
Whereas, on July 20, 1988, Michael visited terminally ill children at Great
Ormond Street Hospital. At a unit for less critical patients he stayed
longer and to engage in story telling time with the children;
Whereas, on August 29, 1988, at his 30th birthday Michael performed a concert in
Leeds, England, for the English charity organization ``Give For Life'',
an organization designed as an immunization charity for children.
Michael presented a check for 65,000 pounds;
Whereas on January 1989, the proceeds of one of Michael's shows in Los Angeles
were donated to Childhelp USA, the biggest charity organization against
child abuse. In appreciation of the contributions of Michael, Childhelp
of Southern California founded the ``Michael Jackson International
Institute for Research On Child Abuse'';
Whereas, on January 10, 1989, upon the winding down of his ``Bad Tour'', Michael
Jackson donated tickets for each concert to underprivileged children,
and made contributions to hospitals, orphanages and charity
organizations throughout each stop on his tour;
Whereas, on February 7, 1989, Michael visited the Cleveland Elementary School in
Stockton, California, a site of playground violence where 5 children had
been tragically killed and 39 had been wounded;
Whereas, on March 5, 1989, Michael invited 200 underprivileged children of the
St. Vincent Institute for Handicapped Children and of the organization
Big Brothers and Big Sisters to the Circus Vargas in Santa Barbara.
Following the event, the children were invited to his ranch to visit his
private Zoo at Neverland Ranch;
Whereas in December 1991, Michael's office MJJ Productions donated more than 200
turkey dinners to needy families in Los Angeles;
Whereas in February 1992, within 11 days Michael covered 30,000 miles in Africa,
to visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, churches, and institutions for
mentally handicapped children;
Whereas, on February 3, 1992, at a press conference at the New York Radio City
Music Hall, Michael announced that he is planning a new world tour, to
raise funds for his new ``Heal The World'' Foundation. This Foundation
was designed to support the fight against AIDS, Juvenile Diabetes, the
Ronald McDonald Camp, and the Make A Wish Foundation;
Whereas, on May 6, 1992, Michael defrayed the funeral expenses for Ramon
Sanchez, who was killed during the Los Angeles riots;
Whereas, on June 26, 1992, Michael presented the Mayor of Munich, Mr.
Kronawitter, with a 40,000 DM check for the needy people of the city;
Whereas on July 1992, Michael donated 821,477,296 Lire to La Partita del Cuore
(The Heart Match) in Rome and donated 120,000 DM to children's charities
in Estonia and Latvia;
Whereas, on July 25, 1992, at his concert in Dublin, Ireland, Michael announced
that he will give 400,000 pounds of the tour earnings to various
charities;
Whereas in June 1993, Michael announced a donation of $1.25 million for children
suffering as a result of the riots in Los Angeles;
Whereas on October 1993, Michael Jackson donated $100,000 to the Children's
Defense Fund, the Children's Diabetes Foundation, the Atlanta Project,
and the Boys and Girl Clubs of Newark, New Jersey;
Whereas on December 1993, in conjunction with the Gorbachev Foundation, Michael
Jackson airlifted 60,000 doses of children's vaccines to Tblisi,
Georgia;
Whereas in 1994, Michael donated $500,000 to Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS Foundation;
Whereas, on October 1, 1996, Michael donated the proceeds of his Tunisia concert
to ``The National Solidarity Fund'', a charity dedicated to fighting
poverty;
Whereas, on December 9, 1996, during the ``History Tour'' visit in Manila,
Michael visited a Children's Hospital, where he announced that a portion
of his concert earnings will be donated to the renovation of the
Hospital;
Whereas the Millennium Issue of the ``Guinness Book Of Records'' named Michael
as ``the Pop Star who supports the most charity organizations'';
Whereas in 2004, The African Ambassadors' Spouses Association, honored Michael
Jackson for his worldwide humanitarian efforts, due to his fiscal
contribution of more than $50 million to various charities, including
many organizations that feed the hungry in Africa; and
Whereas we today mourn with and send our condolences to the children that
Michael Jackson left behind: Prince Michael, Paris Michael, and Prince
Michael II and his mother, father, brothers, and sisters: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes Michael Jackson as a global humanitarian and
a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and
medical crises; and
(2) celebrates Michael Jackson as an accomplished
contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment, scientific
advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and global food
security.
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