“Prince” Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., 23, didn’t have to look far to find inspirational words to bolster the Black Lives Matter movement. “’Beat me…Hate me…You can never break me.’ — Michael Jackson,” the late pop icon’s son posted on Instagram, quoting his dad’s 1995 anti-racism ode “They Don’t Care About Us. The borrowed lines ended there, though, because Prince wanted to “speak from the heart” to his nearly 700,000 followers following the death of George Floyd, whom Prince shared a painting of [SEEN HERE]. The unarmed black man and father’s death has resulted in charges for four fired Minneapolis police officers, one of which — Derek Chauvin, the white officer who pinned George by the neck with his knee — is now facing a second-degree murder charge.
“We wouldn’t be here without black culture. Black culture is about strength. Black culture is about perseverance. Black culture is about resilience. Black culture is about a call for change,” Prince wrote under the painting’s caption. For Prince, “change” isn’t about having difficult talks — it’s about actually dismantling systematic racism. “No more politicians’ promises. No more conversations. No more cycles of racism, abuse, and pain,” he continued. “The system needs to listen to the community’s cries—now. The system needs to change forever—now.”
Prince then gave some of his own advice. “There’s a lot the system can do to you, but when you give up, they win. Don’t let the system hold you down. As [poet] Dylan Thomas once wrote, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night.’ No matter what they throw at us, let’s support each other and not let it break us. At the moment, the best way to heal and move forward is to help one another. We will always be stronger together,” he wrote. You can read his final thoughts above.
Prince’s 22-year-old sister, Paris Jackson, has also been active in the Black Lives Matter movement against racial inequality. She joined a protest in Los Angeles on May 30, and then another one in West Hollywood on June 1. Paris even shared a photo of herself holding a “Peace Love Justice” sign at the first march, which she shared to Instagram and wrote, “Today started out so beautifully, seeing people come together with peace and harmony in their hearts. it broke my heart to see it all go up in flames. violence is not the answer. how do we expect to bring our world up to a happier and higher and healthier way of living if we’re stooping as low as those that committed the crimes we’re protesting ? peaceful protest only!!”
In addition to Prince and Paris, MJ had a second son, Prince Michael Jackson II, who is now 18 years old. The father of three passed away from an overdose of propofol, a sedative, in 2009 — his death was ruled a homicide by the L.A. County Coroner.
