The Michael Jackson Fan Club

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Michael Jackson Tribute Poem, “We Had Him,” Recited For the First Time by Legendary Author Maya Angelou

 Los Angeles, California (July 3, 2010) – The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait has released rare footage of Maya Angelou reciting “We Had Him,” the poem she wrote for Michael Jackson at the time of his passing. The reading of this beautiful and powerful poem was staged exclusively for The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait as a gift to fans worldwide on the occasion of the one year anniversary of Michael’s passing.

This beautiful and powerful poem was first read at the Staples Center Memorial one year ago by Queen Latifah, but it has never been read for the public by the poem’s author, Dr. Angelou, herself … until now!

When Dr. Angelou recently heard about The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait (a one-of-a-kind, interactive work of art made from hand drawn dots – one dot = one fan), she contacted artist David Ilan to express how much she loved it. She invited him to her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, so she could endorse the tribute and make an announcement to fans worldwide to commemorate the one year anniversary by getting their free dots in Michael’s Tribute Portrait. The Monday before the July 25 one year anniversary, David Ilan traveled to Dr. Angelou’s home from Los Angeles with Michael’s portrait.

In a prestigious and touching ceremony, Dr. Angelou was presented with a dot in her name next to Michael’s dot in the portrait. This is the area of the portrait reserved for family and friends. She spoke about Michael in front of the Tribute cameras and, as a gift to the Tribute and to fans around the globe, she recited her poem “We Had Him.” This is the first and only time Dr. Angelou has recited her poem for the public.

 
The video of Dr. Angelou reciting her poem for Michael has just been released on YouTube. The announcement of its release was made simultaneously to Michael’s fan clubs around the world:

 

 
In this never-before-seen video, Maya Angelou states, “I don’t believe that Michael would be surprised to find this gigantic tribute, the largest in the world. I think he would be delighted, I think he would feel humbled, I think he would be humbly over the moon to know about this tribute, but I don’t think he would be surprised.”

 
Jerry Biederman, the Co-founder and Executive Producer of The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait said, “It is our goal to have this great video be seen by every person on the planet who loves Michael Jackson. You can help us by sharing this far and wide to your friends, on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter … you name it. It starts with us, and with luck and faith, this video will travel the globe many times over for generations to come! Michael’s legacy is in our hands.”

To get YOUR dot, go to http://www.MichaelJacksonTributePortrait.com

 

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Jerry Biederman
Co-founder / Executive Producer
The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait

http://www.MichaelJacksonTributePortrait.com
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