Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.'s Statement on Passing of Michael Jackson

MWPR CLIENT │ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY

BALTIMORE, MD (June 25, 2009) – “Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. mourns the death of a pop music icon, Michael Jackson. As we observe Black Music Month and make plans to celebrate Motown’s 50th Anniversary at our 103rd Anniversary Convention in New Orleans, we join with the world in sharing our sadness of this loss.

“As a child growing up in the late 1960s and 1970s, Michael Jackson and his brothers were a part of the fiber and fabric of America and gave me and many members the songs and sounds of our youth. I recall watching the on the Ed Sullivan show. It was my pleasure to see Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five in Atlanta in 1971 at the first Martin Luther King Birthday concert at the old Atlanta City Auditorium. I shall never forget it. As a historian I accumulated a large collection Jackson Five memorabilia,” remembers Skip Mason, General (national) President.

Our prayers go out to the Jackson family. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity will celebrate his legacy and the great musical contributions that he and his brothers made while at Motown during our Public Program in New Orleans on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel.