Particularly given the historical treatment of African American artists and entertainers, emails emerging in the AEG-Jackson trial should be alarming and revealing even to those who don't count themselves fans of the King of Pop. AEG executive Randy Phillips wrote the following in email about Michael Jackson on the day of his London press conference in 2009:

"We still have to get his nose on properly."
"He is a self-loathing emotionally paralyzed mess."
"I screamed at him so loud the walls were shaking."
"I just slapped him."

This follows testimony and emails from AEG executive Paul Gongaware in which he referred to the artist condescendingly as "Mikey" and lazy, while attempting to manipulate the show calendar for the expressed purpose of deceiving Jackson about the number of shows and days of rest.

Paul Gongaware was also the man who wrote, by way of warning, to concert director Kenny Ortega: "We want to remind [Dr. Conrad Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him." What was expected of Dr. Murray (now a convicted felon), of course, was to do whatever was necessary, right or wrong, legal or illegal, to ensure Jackson was on the stage making AEG money. Jackson's physical and mental health were irrelevant.

Regardless of the trial outcome, AEG's terrible, unethical, exploitive treatment of one of the great artist-entertainers of the 20th century, should remind that the struggle for fair and humane treatment -- for black artists and all artists -- against corporate abuse continues.

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