JACKSON CASE Race question is subject of much debate

Media experts don't know if race will be a big deal in the Jackson case.
By CARY DARLING
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Michael Jackson may be waging a battle against child-molestation charges in the courtroom, but in the court of public opinion, where every move is spotlighted by the media, the fight could come down to something else: the introduction of race into an already incendiary mix of celebrity and sex.
Questions of race have long hung over Jackson, as some have accused him of, both physically and geographically, removing himself from the black community. But the current debate over race has ramped up in recent weeks, in the wake of his very public arrest by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department on Nov. 20 and his hiring of members of the Nation of Islam as bodyguards.
Brother Jermaine Jackson charged that the arrest was "nothing but a modern-day lynching." Meanwhile, singer Rick James echoed, "As soon as you get famous and black, (prosecutors) go after you." (Michael Jackson claimed that police dislocated his shoulder during the arrest.)
Debate is heavy
The arguments about the racial angle of the case, which is still in the pretrial-hearing stage, rage hot and heavy in discussions on such Web sites as BET.com.
"Our black hero, who hates his blackness," writes "Logical" on that site. In a separate thread, Darthbane2K writes, "This is exactly what the WHITE media want, US to turn against MJ (a BLACK icon) and go give props to the likes of Justin Timberlake instead so they can go change entertainment history (again like they did with Elvis)."
An Associated Press poll released last month shows a large divide between how whites and blacks view the Jackson case. By a 60 percent to 30 percent margin, whites believe the singer will get a fair trial, whereas blacks believe the reverse, by a 49-38 margin.
In many ways, it mirrors what happened a decade ago when the O.J. Simpson case exploded into more than just a referendum on whether the former football star and actor had killed his wife. It was viewed as a bellwether of the often-stormy state of American race relations, with whites and blacks seeing the same evidence through very different eyes.
Media experts are conflicted as to whether the Jackson case will be the kind of racial lightning rod that Simpson's turned out to be. However, they are aware that with two other black celebrities coming up for trial soon -- Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, on charges of sexual assault, and singer R. Kelly on child-pornography charges -- the racial elements will be impossible to ignore.
"You have three major cases in the U.S. involving African-American men, icons, who have all been charged with sex crimes. A lot of people are concerned about that," says Christopher Darden, the man who lived through this before as part of the prosecution team in the Simpson criminal trial. "People wonder why these sex cases? Why against these black men, black men of stature? Is there a conspiracy? Is race taken into consideration with the filing of these charges?"
Skin-whitening
With Jackson, the racial aspect takes on the added weight of his personal history, including accusations of skin-bleaching. Jackson has said his changing appearance is due to the skin disorder vitiligo.
"The Jackson case has very low O.J. potential, partly because Michael Jackson is not someone that the black community en masse is going to feel is representative of us," says Rolling Stone contributor and author/critic/cultural commentator Toure. "Even though O.J. wasn't all about being black before the trial, there was still a sense that he was a regular black guy.
"Michael Jackson is not somebody black people can get behind and feel like he's one of us," Toure says.
"It's difficult to ascribe race as part of this, not because Michael Jackson is trying to be white but because he has lived such a unique experience his entire life."