Jun 26, 2009 1:07 pm US/Central
Mayor Clay Wants Michael Jackson Buried In Gary
Clay Also Hopes To Host Jackson's Funeral In Hometown
GARY, Ind. (CBS) ―
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Mayor Rudy Clay wants Michael Jackson buried in his hometown of Gary, Ind.
CBS
Gary, Ind. Mayor Rudy Clay wants Michael Jackson buried in his hometown of Gary, Ind., and he says now more than ever, a Jackson museum should become a reality.
"We really want to speed it up, ASAP, so that the world can come into Gary, Ind., where the home of Michael Jackson is," he said Friday. "If it was good enough for Elvis Presley, it's good enough for Michael Jackson, let me tell you."
Clay would also like to see the pop star buried in his hometown.
"What we're asking the family to do is have Michael Jackson lay in state, in the rotunda here in Gary, because this is where we believe the greatest love for Michael is," Clay said.
With a museum rendering in hand, Clay met with Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson last year. For the past six months, Clay says he's been talking with the mega-star's family, like brothers Tito and Marlon, about the privately funded museum. The proposed plan would relocate the Jackson family home, which is currently at 2300 Jackson Street. A museum would be built around it.
"From that little small house, a giant in the industry, a giant in the world, Michael Jackson grew up," the mayor said.
Clay says a museum would not only give a great economic boost to a city in dire need but celebrate the life of Gary's most renowned success story. Longtime Jackson fan Anita Cochran agrees.
"I think it's very appropriate and I think that should be done just to memorialize him and to have that there SO even the young people can learn about him," she said.
Just three weeks ago, a remodeling project took place at the Jackson family home. Construction debris hauler Leroy Cooper Sr. still has some of the discarded pieces from the renovation.
"I'm just very thankful to be part of hauling away of Michael Jackson's home, and anything I could donate to the museum, I'd be glad to do it," he said.
Tito and Marlon Jackson were in Gary during the home renovation project three weeks ago. The brothers were shooting a documentary, marking their first visit to Gary since leaving their childhood home 40 years ago.
Meanwhile, a Jackson family spokesperson who says it's still too soon to make any decision about a museum. She did say the Jacksons deeply appreciate all the love and support the city of Gary has shown them.
Joe Jackson last visited with Clay at City Hall less than a year ago. Scenes for a reality show starring Joe Jackson were filmed during the visit, during which Jackson helped promote the latest attempt to build a Jackson 5 museum in Gary.
Flags flew at half staff outside Gary's City Hall on Friday and Jackson's music, including "Bad," was piped through an intercom system inside the building.
Mourners also flocked to the Jackson family house, and some held vigil all night. A swelling sea of stuffed animals, signs of tribute and memorials adorn the front step of the house, which Clay wants to move and make part of the proposed museum complex.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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