Re “The Ali You Don’t Know Nearly Enough About”
[img]1612|left|Najee Ali||no_popup[/img]Overcoming one of the harshest hands a man can be dealt, it was an almost unimaginably proud moment last Thursday evening when the community activist Najee Ali stood before a chorus of new and old friends to read from his first book, “Raising Hell.”
The minister who introduced Mr. Ali at the Operation Hope Cyber Cafe booksigning, the Rev. K. W. Tulloss, bullseye’d his profile:
“A front line soldier who never would shy away from a conflict. Our friend, our brother, the right brother, Najee Ali.”
Mr. Ali described the Rev. Tulloss as “the right-hand man in L.A.” of the Rev. Al Sharpton.
A seasoned orator, although usually in stormier, more casual settings in his permanent war for social justice in the black community, Mr. Ali read several excerpts from Raising Hell, a narration of his tumultuous first 49 years, including time on both sides of bars.
“I want to give you a feel for my book,” he said.
What Mr. Ali proceeded to read provided a fascinating window to his life, dwelling heavily on celebrated persons he has known, with the accent consistently on the other persons rather than the author himself.
A 49-year-old convert to Islam, his battles with law enforcement practically have formed an unbroken thread through the center aisle of his colorful life.
You want to believe he will be with us for decades to come, but his nature is to scrap for justice wherever he finds injustice.
As he enters the second half of his life, this means if you missed his exploits the first time, you may have a second chance.
Second chance has been another bold face theme in his life, resonating and ricocheting like a billiards trying to choose the pocket where it will land.
“Let’s start with Chapter 1,” Mr. Ali says, “about Michael Jackson and my hometown, Gary, IN.
“I was born Ronald Todd Eskew, and raised in Gary, IN., 25 miles from downtown Chicago.
“During my childhood, Gary was, and still is, a majority African American city, currently under the leadership of the city’s first female mayor, my cousin.
Birth of the Jacksons
“Gary is best known for its large steel mills and its hometown football star-turned-actor, Fred (The Hammer) Williamson. Also vocalist Denise Williamson, and the king of pop, Michael Jackson and his family.
“Under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, with Michael and his older brothers, they formed a band called the Jackson 5, and launched their musical careers in Gary, IN.
“The Jackson 5 lived with their parents and younger siblings.
“The Jackson family’s house was in back of Roosevelt High School, only a couple minutes away from the housing projects I grew up in during the late ’60s.
“When the Jackson 5 began to gain national attention, they soon became the pride of the city. In 1968, music mogul the legendary Berry Gordy signed the Jackson 5 to the Motown label he had founded.
“With little Michael Jackson out front, the Jackson 5 exploded on the music scene. They became just as popular as the Temptations, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and the queen of soul herself, Aretha Franklin.”
As you would suspect, Mr. Ali’s book is as serious as his life, no candidate for Comedy Central, with one wee exception.
“One of my favorite childhood memories,” he recounted, still in Chapter 1, “was when former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher led a street dedication in honor of the Jackson family.
“It didn’t matter that the street, by coincidence, already was named Jackson Street.”
The End
Decades later in Los Angeles, the Gary natives were on stage for one of the saddest, most dramatic episodes of Michael’s life.
In 2005, the most accomplished Jackson was reeling from child molestation accusations. Mr. Ali, doing perhaps what he does best, became a loud and visible advocate for and defender of his fellow son of Gary.
“On behalf of Michael, I was responsible for organizing overnight fan support rallies, bus trips for fans to Michael’s home, called Neverland Ranch, and protests outside the home of the attorney who led an unsuccessful witch hunt against Michael.
“On June 13, 2005, Michael was found not guilty of all charges.
“Unfortunately, the world never would see Michael perform again.
“On June 25, 2009 would tragically be cut short.” His death was ruled a homicide.
“The city of Gary had lost a native son whose life was ended way too soon. Michael was a humanitarian, philanthropist, one of the greatest human beings to have ever lived.”
