In two days I will celebrate a very special day. No, it’s not my birthday or my wedding day, but it’s just as commemorative: Michael Jackson’s birthday.

And though the “King of Pop” is no longer with us — having died in his California home in June 2009, his legacy of philanthropy and humanitarianism still lives on, even beyond his death.

As a young child in the early 1990s, I remember rushing home from school to excitedly turn on my television, anticipating Michael’s newest music video. He mesmerized me by his smooth choreography and magnetic stage presence. That voice, with perfect tone, made me want to marry a man who could croon just like him. I’m swooning.

Whether you were most familiar with the 1980s pop MJ with the bedazzled glove, trailblazing dance moves or repeated denials of offspring by a groupie, or the 1990s R&B Michael, who was often mistaken for his younger sister Janet, no one can deny that Jackson’s music made you want to dance and it made you think.

Selling more than 750 million records worldwide, Jackson was loved by many. Though at times misunderstood and seen as outlandish, Jackson continued to “heal the world” through contributing many of his earnings to innumerable charities — aiding war torn countries or helping those ravished by disease and stricken by poverty.

I am proud of many of the local organizations in the city such as the Black Belt Community Foundation and the Red Cross that are instilling in others, especially youth, the importance of giving. Many can’t give money to helping the hungry or the poor but spending time at your local library to read a child a book or picking up trash around the community, can be just as helpful.

And as many stars of today often mimic Michael’s innovative style and mini-movie style of music videos, few will ever hold a candle to Michael’s servitude. Michael encouraged all of us to take a look at the person in the mirror and make a change, for the better.