New York celebrates Michael Jackson

During the Blackout of 2003, New Yorkers came out on the streets and stayed there all night. This phenomenon was seen again tonight as Michael Jackson's fans stayed out overnight, keeping his memory alive. They were not mourning but celebrating his life.

Crowds gathered under the blinking lights of the world famous Apollo marquee in Harlem where their hero performed many times with the Jackson 5. African-Americans were out in full force at the legendary music venue, where artistes like James Brown and Aretha Franklin have performed, to pay homage to the first African- Americans cross over artist who reached incredible heights of success.

Within hours of Jackson's death, T-shirts bearing vintage photos of the music legend were selling for $20. A T-shirt seller said that people were buying his wares because "Mike is an icon around here. Everybody wants one of them (shirts) to remember him or to give to their kids."

In the city that never sleeps, fans stayed out all night, dancing and singing along to Jackson hits.  A young fan explained? "We are dancing like him, we are dancing for him and in a way we are dancing with him. We are here because of Michael. We love him. We just want to show the world that we respect him a lot. Despite every thing he is still the King of Pop."

For die-hard fans it was a night to celebrate his life not to mourn his loss. To them, it didn't matter that the troubled singer had been living like a recluse for the past few years, more often in the news embroiled in some controversy or scandal than for his music. There will be time for the uncomfortable questions about why and how the 50-year-old died, but the night was for celebrating his life and his contribution to the world of music.