Katherine Jackson: The Woman To Emulate

A great parent is like a strong pillar. Supporting the weight of their children and the weight of the people whose lives they touch.

Best known as the matriarch of the famous musical family, the Jacksons and mother of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and their seven famous siblings Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Rebbie, LaToya, Marlon and Randy, she is a phenomenal woman and a great parent.

Katherine Jackson is a woman to be emulated. Streets should be named after her and young girls should be told of her story.

Have you ever wondered what it would take for a mother to raise such impactful, successful and phenomenal children? What ingredients could she have used? What kind of person is she?

Born Katherine Screws on the 4th of May 1930, the matriarch of the Jackson family harboured dreams of being a country singer as a child. She met Joseph Jackson in 1947. She married him two years later, and they immediately began their family after purchasing a two bedroomed house in Gary, Indiana.

The Jackson 5

A lot of people give credit to Joe Jackson for starting The Jackson 5 and for helping nurture his children’s talents. A lot of people also give credit to Tito Jackson for breaking his father’s guitar string and inadvertently leading to the start of their music group. Others give credit to Michael Jackson for his phenomenal talent and for using it to help his family rise out of poverty.

Many fail to give credit to Katherine Jackson for being the mother that allowed her children to practice that guitar in the first place, even when touching it was strictly forbidden in their household and would result in trouble.

Katherine Jackson played a poignant role in starting the Jackson legacy. Even after their father, Joseph wouldn’t allow their kids to touch his guitar, she allowed them to play it and to sing around the house while doing chores.

It is Katherine Jackson that encouraged her sons to sing together when their television broke down, which has been credited to being the crucial start of the Jackson music legacy.

It is Katherine Jackson that usually woke up little Michael even in the middle of the night so that he could watch James Brown dance on television.

It is Katherine Jackson that supported her husband’s dream for their children when he took the $300 they had kept aside for a house expansion to buy his sons their first musical instruments.

It is she that kept food on the table and ensured the smooth running of her household when Joseph Jackson quit his job at the steel mill to devote his time to managing his sons’ budding music careers full-time.

She also helped nurture her son’s talents by supervising them while they practised before and after school. Katherine Jackson also hand sewed several of the Jackson 5 costumes. Particularly the ones they appeared in on the cover of their hit song ABC.

According to her book My Family, The Jacksons, she also played a role in coming up with the name Jackson 5.

“She’s the one who from the very beginning realised we had talent. My momma was an avid country and western fan so we would harmonise with her all the time. And she told my poppa: ‘Hey Joe, the boys can really sing, you need to check them out.’ After he heard us sing, he started buying instruments.” — Jackie Jackson

Wonderful mother

Son Jermaine Jackson in his book You are Not Alone: Michael: Through A Brother’s Eyes which he wrote in honour of his brother Michael, shared that their mother loved them equally.

I find this to be very poignant.

For a mother with trailblazing children such as Michael and Janet, who are known, loved, adored and worshipped all over the world, we would expect based on human nature that she would tend to show some bias, more attention and even more love to these two. Many parents do this. Deliberately or inadvertently. But not Katherine Jackson! As told by her son Jermaine.

Jermaine also wrote in his book that while their father Joseph throughout their early careers saw his children as entertainers first and sons second pushing them to perform and rehearse no matter what, Katherine Jackson nurtured her superstar children without being clouded by their careers, success, fame or stardom. To her, they were always sons first and entertainers second.

Her book My Family, The Jacksons also contain contributions from and wonderful stories about all her children.

Daughter Janet also shared in an interview that she regularly keeps in touch with her, and her son loves to face time with his grandmother.

“My mother is very strong. Aside from wanting her beauty and her heart, I really wanted her strength. And I’ve always thought I don’t have it." — Janet Jackson

Support system

Mrs Jackson has over the years shown tremendous support to her children, both personally and professionally.

In the beginning, when Joseph Jackson was reluctant to include his son Marlon into the children’s singing group as he wasn’t as proficient in it as his siblings, Katherine Jackson insisted that he be part of it.

When her daughter Janet eloped and got married at a young age, she and her then-husband ended up living at her mother’s Encino residence. She was also the one that took her to her first audition for a television role.

When years later Jermaine Jackson got divorced from his first wife Hazel Gordy, he also moved back to his mothers Encino residence together with his then partner and lived there for several years with their children.

Janet Jackson in a 90s interview while on tour shared that her mother frequently attended her concerts and always referred to her as “my baby”.

Her son Michael also shared these sentiments. In his Private Home Movies, he showed his mother and sister Janet backstage at one of his concerts, adding that they were singing as loudly as he was as he entertained the audience.

Mrs Jackson has always shown support to her children, no matter what. When Michael Jackson left the Jehovah’s Witnesses a faith he had been practising since childhood, after his career as an entertainer conflicted with the ideals of the faith, his mother was there to support him.

Jaffar Jackson, Jermaine Jackson’s son, can also be heard thanking his grandmother for helping him in his music career in video footage available on YouTube.

Grandson Taj Jackson has on many occasions showered praises to his grandmother. Most poignantly in their documentary Jacksons: Next Generation.

Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson’s only daughter who is named after her, has shared several pictures of her grandmother attending her concerts.

Hospitality

It is good to note that several of her grandchildren and their mother lived with her at her residence for years until she was granted custody of Michael Jackson’s three children and they were asked to find an alternative residence after an incident.

Her hospitality also extended to Michael Jackson’s fans. In the early years, when his famous son still lived at home and fans would gather around their gate, she would invite some in and entertain them.

The Sco triplets(where one Thayana is married to Taj Jackson Katherine’s grandson) also shared that when they initially moved to America, Katherine Jackson opened her doors to them and housed them.

Nurturing

After the death of her son Michael, Mrs Jackson was very protective of his three children. She made her best efforts to ensure that his children maintained a part of their lives with their father by hiring the nanny they were used to and by allowing them to have a say in the choice of their schooling. While the eldest two went to regular school, the youngest who was still young, shy and apprehensive at that point maintained homeschooling with a tutor.

Also, when the children expressed a desire to enter the entertainment industry while still minors, Katherine Jackson supported them but also encouraged them to do it with moderation as she shared with them that their father Michael had lamented about losing his childhood to work and she did not want the same for them.

It is also she that provided answers to the three children in the hospital on the day Michael Jackson died. When the shocked and grieving children wondered and asked where they were going to go, having spent their entire lives with their now-dead father as their only parent, Mrs Jackson told them that they were going home with her.

It is good to note that even though she felt responsible and took the role with the weight it carried, Katherine Jackson did not feel entitled to taking care of Michael Jackson’s children. She allowed her grandsons and other family members to help her in performing her roles, allowing TJ Jackson to be co-guardian for the three children and later sole guardian for the youngest when the oldest two reached adulthood.

Katherine Jackson not only taught her children the core values they believed in their lives, but she also led by example.

Forgiveness is one virtue she practises.

When her husband Joe Jackson broke his vows and sired a child out of their marriage, she forgave him and also embraced this child into her life.

She has also been quoted lending forgiveness to the media for lies they rehashed about her children over the years.

Even though she found it hard to, Katherine Jackson attempted to find peace about the doctor that caused the death of her son Michael. She expressed these feelings in a 60 Minutes interview.

Career

Many might know her as the matriarch of the Jackson family only, but she is also an author of two books: My Family, The Jacksons and Never Can Say Goodbye: The Katherine Jackson Story. She also co-produced the television series The Jacksons: An American Dream.

Teaching and parenting her children

Katherine Jackson throughout the years worked hard at bringing her family together. She even in his last years had managed to convince her son Michael to perform together with his brothers on a tour.

As a religious person that strictly adhered to her Jehovah’s Witness faith, she nurtured her children into Godliness. All through the years, she has been going door to door spreading the word as required by her faith.

“Michael was a happy-go-lucky kind of person. I didn’t have to teach my son lessons about being humble during his lifelong fame; it seemed to come naturally to him. I remember telling Michael as a boy that performing on stage was a job and that it did not make him better than anyone else. It’s possible that my message resonated, even still, his humility often amazed me”. – Katherine Jackson

Michael Jackson is one the greatest humanitarians to have ever lived. In his lifetime he donated over $300 million to charity. In his will, he left 20% of his posthumous earnings to charity. His son Prince Jackson has shared that his father wanted to be remembered more as a humanitarian than as the breathtaking superstar he was.

Did you know that it is Katherine Jackson who helped instill empathy and the nature of giving in his son?

As a child, she introduced him to a moving documentary about hunger and poverty in the third world.

“One day I am going to do something about it mother.” The young Michael said.

And he did. Not just in his lifetime, but in perpetuity!

He also instilled this empathy in his three children who have dedicated their lives to giving back.

That’s the impact of Katherine Jackson.

Mama bear

Katherine Jackson also showed up to court every single day without fail for almost five months when her son Michael was on trial for alleged child molestation. To be able to do this, she had temporarily moved to his home Neverland. On many occasions, she could be seen holding his hand and walking with him as a show of support during this trying eriod.

Mrs Jackson also spoke many times in support of her children especially on the controversies that surrounded their lives. She defended her son Michael on various occasions, even flying across continents in 1993 together with her family to show support after the first child molestation allegations against him.

Mrs Jackson also defended her daughter Janet after the Superbowl half time show incident that left her nipple exposed.

She has been a comforting presence in the lives of her children and grandchildren. Son Michael credits his mother for talking to him late at night on the phone the night before 9/11. It made him oversleep, making him miss an appointment in the twin towers on the fateful day.

Hurt by the negligence that led to her son Michael’s death and in seeking justice for him and his children and answers for herself, her family and his fans, she bravely led a wrongful death suit against the man responsible who was convicted and served a prison term.

Mrs Jackson also sued the company responsible for the tour that her son was preparing for at the time of his death. Even though she did not win this case, a lot was brought to light about the factors surrounding her son’s death, which brought some form of closure to her, her family and his fans.

Her children have on numerous occasions credited their success to her.

Janet Jackson dedicated her album Rhythm Nation 1984 to her while Michael dedicated Thriller to her.

Her son Michael wrote a poem Mother Dear about her and named a mountain at Neverland Mt. Katherine after her immortalising his love for his mother on a monument for eternity.

"My mother knew her polio was not a curse but a test that God gave her to triumph over, and she instilled in me a love of Him that I will always have. She taught me that my talent for singing and dancing was as much God’s work as a beautiful sunset or a storm that left snow for children to play in." — Michael Jackson

Let us teach our children about the strength, dedication, love, warmth, and impact of Katherine Jackson. Let us read more about her and her life. Let us be inspired by her strength and pick lessons from her life that can help us be the best versions of ourselves.

“My mother’s wonderful. To me, she is perfection. ”— Michael Jackson