A rare woman these days can afford to raise more than two children, and for many, motherhood becomes a real burden. But one very strong woman proved by her example that it is possible to raise and educate nine children in love and care, while some of them are world stars, and among them is the legend and king of pop music Michael Jackson. This is Katherine Jackson. The biography of this beautiful woman is really special, because it was not for nothing that she was awarded the "Mother of the Year" award in 1985.
Young years
The birthplace of Katherine Jackson (see the photo of the woman in the article) is the province of Barbour in the state of Alabama (USA), where she was born on May 4, 1930 in the family of a farmer Prince Albert Vinta and Martha Upshaw. A little later, their family changed their surname to Skruse in honor of the family whose slave was Katherine's great-grandfather, whose name was Candell Brown. His melodious voice was known throughout the neighborhood. Jackson believes that perhaps the tendency to sing was passed down genetically in her family.
In 1934, the Skruse family moved to Chicago, because his father was looking for work and got a job at a factory, and then at an ironroad. But Martha and Prince Albert soon divorced, and Katherine and her sister Hattie stayed with their mother. In the 30s of the last century, a vaccine against polio, the so-called infantile paralysis, had not yet been invented, so in those days many children died from it or remained disabled. It was this disease that struck Catherine at the age of one and a half. For many years, the girl walked on crutches and spent a significant amount of time in the hospital. She couldn't even finish school on time. Katherine received her certificate as an adult, having completed evening courses. And she had a slight limp for the rest of her life.
Music tied them together
Even as a teenager, due to her illness, Kate, as her family and friends call her, was very shy. Her classmates often laughed at her, and the only outlet for her was music. The girl sang in the Baptist church of their town, but dreamed of someday becoming an artist. As a young girl, she fell in love with Joseph Jackson, who was a very temperamental and musical guy, but he preferred another. True, a year later the couple divorced, and Joe began dating Kate. Soon, on November 5, 1949, they were married in Indiana, at a place called Crown Point. Then the couple moved to the industrial town of Gary, where they lived for many years. According to close people, Katherine Jackson adored her husband, and even knowing about his affairs on the side, she turned a blind eye to them, because the divorce of her own parents was a severe trauma for her. Katherine swore to herself that she would have a marriage once and for all her life.
Real mother heroine
The Jackson family lived in the black quarter in a small three-room house that the head of the family bought in 1950. It was there that all their children were born. Rebbie (née Maureen) was born on May 29, 1950; on May 4 the following year, Sigmund Esco, better known as Jackie, was born. October 15, 1953 was the birthday of Tito (full name Toriano Adaril), and in December 1954, the third son, Jermain Lajuan, was born. The future infamous singer LaToya was born a year later, on May 29.
In March 1957, the Jacksons had twins, Marlon David and Brandon, though the latter died a few days later. The seventh child, born on August 29, 1958, was Michael. Katherine Jackson in her book recalled that the name of this child was given by her mother. Stephen Randall was born in 1961, and the last was a girl, Janet Damita, another star child of the mother-heroine.
With God in my heart
While Joseph worked hard at the factory to feed all this rather big family, Katherine skillfully managed the house and household. Children were brought up by labor, each had his own duties at home. The Jackson family lived very poorly, often lacking money for the most necessary things, but they learned to be content with little. Catherine often had to sew clothes for the children herself. She was always a zealous believer in God, was a Baptist, then a Lutheran, until she found herself in the Jehovah's Witnesses. This teaching became her lifeblood, and she also tried to inculcatetheir religious views to the family, especially Rebbie, LaToya and Michael succumbed to its influence.
After an unsuccessful attempt by Joseph, who dreamed of fame, to play in a band, he hid his guitar in the closet. Catherine is the owner of a wonderful soprano, and the guys often took out an instrument and sang together. The father once heard them singing, and so the Jackson 5 group was born, in which the mother of the family played the role of a stylist and picked up the boys' suits.
Support of the family
Since the Jackson 5's rise to fame, Joseph has led and toured with them. He had previously been convicted of infidelity more than once, but now he went into all serious trouble. The last straw was the moment when Katherine Jackson in 1974 found out about her husband's illegitimate daughter. But her religiosity, a vow to herself regarding one marriage for life, as well as children, caused her not to file for divorce, although she really wanted to. Since then, her relationship with her husband went wrong, and after a while they stopped living under the same roof, but nevertheless she continued to be an excellent mother, devoting herself to children and religion.
In 1991, she released the autobiographical book "Mom", where most of her memories concerned her most famous child, Michael Jackson. She constantly tried to protect her star children from the attacks of the press. Michael's death in 2009 was a severe tragedy for her, from which she still cannot recover. In 2010, this incredibly strong woman still filed for divorce. The last straw wasJoseph's accusation, according to which Katherine was responsible for her son's death. At the moment, this 85-year-old lady is engaged in charity work and even decided to prove herself in the flower business. Having raised nine children, Katherine Jackson does not stop there, because now she is the guardian of three of Michael's children.
