KING OF POP: DIES AT 50; WORLD MOURNS

Fans are gathering in public places to mourn together, holding vigils, moments of silence, singing his songs, dancing to his tunes, posting their feelings on the internet, and even making t-shirts for everyone to wear. Jackson’s mother has filed court papers to get custody of Jackson’s three young children. Black leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are disturbed that so much attention has been brought to the child sex charges to all of which Jackson was found not guilty in 1992 and 2005.

He should be remembered for the totality of the man, the performer, the dancer, the singer, said Sharpton.

Thousands have gathered near Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the star, a small plastic boat sits on the ground with Peter Pan inside and a note that says, ‘Michael, here is Peter Pan to take you to Neverland’.

Crowds of mourners held vigil outside the Jackson family’s home in Gary, Indiana. Fans also gathered together outside Neverland Ranch in southern California, Jackson’s house in Holmby Hills and the Apollo Theatre in New York. Michael Jackson performed at Harlem’s Apollo as a child during segregation.

In Times Square, in New York City, the giant TV screens told passers- by of Jackson’s death and people flocked there to watch the news unfold together as they did for John Lennon and Elvis Presley.

In Bucharest, Romania, a message board was erected in the downtown area, as Michael Jackson was the first person to perform there in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet bloc. Thousands of notes praising the superstar have been posted to his memory.

The inmates at the Cebu prison in the Philippines, who danced to Thriller on YouTube, are planning to perform a commemoration dance.

In Toronto, fans held a candlelight vigil in Dundas Square and people drew chalk pictures on the sidewalk for Michael.