Excited students, parents, teachers, administrators and local dignitaries mobbed the Jackson brothers when they returned to Northwest Indiana Saturday.
Marlon and Tito Jackson visited Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School in unincorporated Calumet Township just outside of Gary, where the Jackson Family Visual & Performing Arts Wing was dedicated in their family’s honor. They held babies, posed for pictures, signed autographs, greeted kids and smiled for selfies.
“I think it’s great because music is missing out of so many schools today,” Marlon Jackson said. “For them to continue is important. It’s an outlet for kids. We really appreciate them honoring our family and doing this. It always feels good to come home. I just want everybody across the globe to believe in peace and come together with unity.”
Tito Jackson said it was a great honor to have the three performing and visual arts classrooms and a few adjoining rooms named after the Jackson family, which lived in Gary’s Midtown neighborhood before signing with Motown Records and making it big internationally.
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“It’s great to come back home,” he said. “It’s great to see that the people of Gary appreciate you and honor you and make you feel really great. You continue your journey and encourage others. It’s a good feeling. It feels good that you give some to inspire the students. The students are great, the school is great, the principal is great.”
Marlon Jackson shared the story of how the Jackson 5 came about to a large crowd of students and adults that gathered for the dedication ceremony.
“Tito is the one who really made this happen. We started signing country and western music because our television had broken down and our mom taught us to harmonize,” Marlon Jackson said. “Tito is the one who started the group because he his my father’s guitar out of the closet and was playing and broke a string. After my father had disciplined him, he told him to play something for me. He did and was surprise, gave Tito his guitar and bought a new one. My mom told my dad their boys could sing. He said, ‘those boys can’t sing.’ So he heard us harmonize and from that point forward he rehearsed us every single day.”
Marlon continued: “The kids used to come and watch us in the window when we rehearsed after school. That’s what we did. The musical gift the lord bestowed upon us, we didn’t take it for granted. But we didn’t realize what the Lord had in front of us. When we got older, I realized it wasn’t just music. It was our message and through out music we could unite the world as one in harmony and peace. That was the real message from the lord.”
The Jacksons returned to Northwest Indiana to perform a concert for the third anniversary of the Hard Rock Casino, which donated $500,000 to the school district and bring the family back here.”
“It’s so special to be able to bring the Jacksons back home,” Hard Rock Casino President Matt Schuffert said. “We’re excited to be here and bring the family back here.”
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton it’s a special occasion whenever Gary’s very own homegrown talent returns.
“The Jacksons represented us extremely well globally, not just nationally,” he said. “We want to make sure we welcome them back in the best way possible. Gary is always in your heart wherever you go. That means so much home. Every time you come back home, you’re welcomed back. The youth, the next generations needs to be able to see the greatness that comes from this community. It means so much.”
Superintendent Dr. Sharon Johnson-Shirley said the dedication of the art, music and band rooms as the Jackson Family Visual & Performing Arts Wing would inspire arts students.
“In 1964 in the steel mill city of Gary, Indiana, the Jacksons, under the tutelage of their parents Joe and Katherine began a musical journey of creativity and excellence that would forever change the world of pop music,” she said. “Whether preforming as the Jackson 5 or solo acts, from staring in their own Jackson 5 cartoon series to Janet Jackson’s breakthrough role as Penny, a sweet innocent but troubled inner-city child of the television show “Good Times,” their cool afros and colorful attire continue to influence style and fashion. From the beginning, the Jackson family has inspired generations of singers, dancers, songwriters and musicians. It is in that spirit of musical genius that we dedicate the Jackson Family Visual & Performing Arts Wing to encourage Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School students to follow their dreams and perhaps one day change the world.”
Students demonstrated the arts they’re learning with performances of music and dance, performing for the Jackson brothers at the open house.
“It’s a very impressive program,” Principal Robert Wilson said. “When I went to the school, it was a woodshop. There’s a lot of transformation. Visual and Performing Director Donald Thompson has really been pushing the arts, trying to get the community involved, get the students involved and give them opportunities both during and after schools.”
Thompson, a friend of the Jackson family, proposed naming arts wing in honor of the Jackson family, presenting the idea to the school board. The family recently donated to the school to buy clothes for the students.
“What it means to the students is we’ll be doing visual arts. We’ll be doing dance arts. We’ll be doing theater art. We’ll be doing music,” he said. “We’re going to be doing summer stock theater in the outdoor atrium. It’s a beautiful facility to encompass all of the performing arts in every form.”
He’s looking to launch summer stock theater next summer and is coordinating a summer enrichment program in conjunction with the Urban League of Northwest Indiana this summer.
“A performing arts program works with both the right and the left brain,” he said. “Through time signatures, I teach math. I teach algebraic formulas through notes and time signatures. When students are learning ‘It’s a Hard-Knock Life,’ they’re learning about social studies and the Great Depression and the historical essence of how that evolved. When they’re singing ‘How the Sun Will Come Out,’ that’s President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. When we’re learning ‘West Side Story,’ they’re learning about immigration. When they’re reviewing ‘Hamilton,’ they learning about constitution. When they’re learning about ‘Les Misérables,’ they’re learning about the difference between a republic and a monarchy. Within the music program, they’re walking away with an understanding of the social, political and economic perspectives and how they have dictated societal norms.”
A look back at Northwest Indiana businesses that closed in 2023
A look back at Region businesses that closed in 2023
Beer Geeks, one of the Region’s first, most beloved and most influential craft beer bars, closed after more than a decade and is being reimagined as a new concept.
The landmark 88-year-old castle-shaped White Castle in Whiting is coming down to be replaced with a newer, larger, more modern White Castle restaurant.
A longtime staple in downtown Crown Point poured its last drink.
The longtime Westforth Sports gun shop is closing.
The Silver Line Building Products plant at 16801 Exchange Ave. will be shuttered permanently.
Brewfest in Highland will close in what’s been called “an end of an era.”
David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy and could close all stores if no buyer emerges to save it.
The 88-year-old Whiting White Castle will be remembered with displays at museums in two different states.
For years, the “millionaire’s club” met every morning in the corner booth of the historic 88-year-old White Castle at Indianapolis Boulevard and 119th Street in downtown Whiting. The landmark restaurant served its final slider Tuesday.
One of Northwest Indiana’s most popular and enduring hobby shops is looking for a buyer after the longtime owner died.
J&L This N That Consignment Shop, a popular thrift store, closed in downtown Whiting after a run of several years.
A Calumet Region institution, Calumet Fisheries on the far South Side of Chicago, is temporarily closed after failing a city health inspection.
Just days after reopening after city health inspectors shut it down, Calumet Fisheries suffered a major fire.
Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant is no mas in Valparaiso.
Beer Geeks in Highland rebranded as B-Side Bar & Lounge and then closed within a few months.
Troubled retailer Bed Bath and Beyond will permanently close its Valparaiso location as it shutters more stores nationwide as it looks to restructure and shrink its footprint to save the struggling business.
Peoples Bank has shuttered its branch in downtown Hammond.
Viking Artisan Ales will soon pour its last craft beer at its Merrillville taproom.
Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom is closing after 15 years at one of Northwest Indiana’s most prominent highway interchanges.
Walmart is closing its big-box store in Homewood.
The Chicago Auto Show, the nation’s largest auto show, returns to McCormick Place Saturday, running through Feb. 19.
