Mother of Michael Jackson (96) is now experiencing her greatest sorrow
What would it be like for Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson? After seeing the film Michael, that is what occupied my mind immensely. I went to work with my friends Chat, Claude, and Google to learn everything about the people around Michael Jackson. Because what about his bodyguard Bill, and was that nice woman who discovered him for Motown still alive? But mostly I thought: what must it have been like for Katherine Jackson to watch this film and see her son's life unfold in all its highs and lows.
And that, my dear people, must have come in like a brick flying through your windshield.
Katherine's life is not one of a dime a dozen. Katherine is a status apart. She was born on May 4, 1930, in Barbour County, Alabama, as Kattie B. Screws, a name she would later exchange for Katherine Esther Scruse when her family moved to East Chicago, Indiana. As a little girl, she contracted polio. She recovered, but the disease left a lasting limp. She met Joseph Jackson at a party, and it was, according to her, love at first sight. They married in 1949 and had ten children together: Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael, Randy, and Janet. And Brandon, Marlon's twin brother, who died at birth. Ten children, two of whom have already passed before her.
Katherine was a deeply religious Jehovah's Witness, and that faith determined much of her life, including the choices she would have preferred to make differently. She tried to divorce Joe Jackson twice, the man who tyrannized her children, beat her, and fathered a daughter outside of marriage. But her faith did not allow divorce, and the fear of Joe did the rest. They lived largely apart, but officially the marriage remained intact until his death in 2018.
That she was still able to provide the warmth and safety for her children that she was, under those circumstances, is simply extraordinary. Michael wrote about it himself in his autobiography Moonwalk: every child thinks their mother is the greatest in the world, but the Jacksons never lost that feeling. Because of Katherine's softness, warmth, and attention, he could not imagine what it was like to grow up without a mother's love.
And then you lose that special son. On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 from acute propofol poisoning, and his death is considered a murder. Katherine, then 79 years old, became the guardian of his three children: Prince, Paris, and Bigi. While the rest of the world mourned and moved on with their lives, Katherine rolled up her sleeves and started anew, as a mother for her child's children.
On May 4 of this year, Katherine turned 96. She shares her birthday with her son Jackie, and the family celebrated it with an intimate dinner. Janet Jackson called her the queen of queens on Instagram, a woman who has touched lives with quiet wisdom and a love that never wavered. Jermaine shared photos of three generations together: Katherine, himself, and his son Abu Bakr. Connections between generations, he wrote, and how blessed he feels to still have his mother close to him at this age.
What Katherine thinks of the film Michael, she has not publicly said. But she was there: she attended the premiere on April 20 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. And she had wholeheartedly supported the casting of the lead role in 2023, as that lead role is played by her grandson Jaafar, the son of Jermaine. He embodies Michael, she said then, and it was so special to see him continue the Jackson legacy of artists and performers.
Imagine what it is like to sit in that cinema. The face of your son, carried by your grandson. The years of pain, the blows from Joe, the sacrifices, the pride, the sorrow, and the love, all condensed into two hours on a big screen. There are no words for what Katherine Jackson felt that evening, but she was there. Just as she always has been.
At 96 years old, Katherine Jackson is still the quiet rock upon which a whole musical universe is built, not loud and not in the foreground, but indispensable and always present.
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle / Lionsgate
