Jackson defends his campaign

Michael Jackson seemed to be trying to regain some credibility over his involvement in Rev Al Sharpton’s campaign for better treatment of black artists at a conference event in New York yesterday. Rev Al Sharpton's National Action Network is fighting for better contracts, royalties and distribution for black artists, and organisers considered the support of Jackson something of a coup. But when Jackson used a campaign event at the weekend to further his personal anti-Sony campaign some in the US media felt Jacko was monopolising the initiative to settle his own grievances with his record label. Speaking at the Music Industry Initiative Summit in Harlem, Jackson addressed the criticism claiming he was speaking for all the black artists who were treated badly by a racist music industry. "I'm tired of the manipulation," he said. "The press has manipulated the truth. They're liars. History books are a lie. You need to know this, you must know this, that all forms of popular music, from jazz to rock to hip-hop, and dance, from the jitterbug to the Charleston, are black. But go down to the corner bookstore, and you won't see one black person on a cover. You'll see Elvis Presley. You'll see the Rolling Stones. But where are the real pioneers?"