In 1980, when young Stacy Lattisaw sang the hit song “Let Me Be Your Angel,” she had no idea that the lyrics would be prophetic.
Fast forward to today, we have Stacy Lattisaw-Jackson, the minister and motivational speaker, executive director, wife of 19 years, and mother of two teenagers. Talking to Stacy was rewarding because she knows where she’s been, what she’s got, and where she’s going. Her purpose and passion were clear when she told me “I’m not the same girl”, which is the name of her book. “The closer I get to God, the more I know what his plan is for me.” Stacy is the executive director of Believer’s Building Bridges; his company published his book and is also home to his Youth Empowerment Program. Stacy is on a mission to reach children. Hold youth conferences and events, encouraging kids to finish school, convincing them that they don’t have to follow the crowd. She challenges them to stand up and be leaders. It also teaches about the principle of integrity and not being afraid to support abstinence. “There are not many role models for our children today, so I do my best to stay in the gap for many of them.” Her heart goes out to those who are being bullied “I had a hard time at school. As I was very light, they called me a white girl and a yellow girl. I was quiet, shy and somewhat shy, so people took it as stagnant until . “Unfortunately, after she became a child star, things took a turn for the worse. “You know that when you reach a certain level of success not everyone is happy for you. And many times the opposition comes from our own people.” Not only did she have to worry about the students, but now she had teachers join in: “I was 15 years old and adult women would look me up and down and talk about what I had with each other.
“I’d turn in my test papers and they would tell me they couldn’t find it; anything that could harass me.” Finally, Stacy’s parents had enough and decided to homeschool her. She happened to be a star.
After her crossover, mainstream status with “Love on a Two Way Street”, “Miracles” and “Let Me be your Angel”, Stacy was taken under the wings of Narada Michael Walden producing five successful albums that led to her signing. with Motown in 1986.
It was at this point that Stacy began to see things that put her off. “I realized that I was deeply involved in an industry where there were a lot of corrupt people.” “My daughter Kayla wants to enter the industry, she sings and writes songs. But I will not pressure her, in fact, I encourage her to wait until she is a little older. I want her to enjoy her childhood and prepare for the life of the industry “. Stacy said, “I had a nice experience being a child star, but it’s a lot if you’re not ready.”
I understand a lot about what Michael Jackson went through when he was a child star. “I was fortunate to open up for the Jackson family tour, which was a great opportunity for me. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak with Michael, a moment that I will cherish as long as I live.” He reflected on the childhood he never had. “I didn’t know how much I missed growing up until one day I took my son Kevin to one of their games. I was sitting in the car watching them have fun as a teenager and my mind reminded me. school, or proms, and I never went to school games. I was crushed and I cried right there in the car. “
Traveling on the road can be a lot and when you are 15 years old it can be scary. There were sad moments when, “I was forced to leave my family and fly 20 hours to an event in Africa. I was tired and didn’t want to go. I sat down and cried because I was exhausted but still had to.” to go. “And then there were funny memories” like the time I was on stage, and I forgot the words of the second verse. I had to interpret it and make up words. “” Now this was one of my hit songs, so everyone in the audience was singing the right words and I was singing the wrong ones. “
“I guess everyone was saying what she sings,” while laughing. At this point, they had Stacy on the road at least 4 nights a week. “We had fun but we were very tired.”
It wasn’t until she recorded, “Where Do We Go From Here” with Johnny Gill that she realized she wasn’t ready to be in the music business. Although her mother was traveling with her on the road, they all had very limited knowledge of the industry. “They were stealing from us. This was a chart-topping hit record for several weeks at # 1, and they told us we only sold 30 or 40,000 records. We both knew that couldn’t be true. Johnny was going to have the company audited. But I knew it was time to leave the industry. I told them to go ahead and take my share of the money. “
Stacy finally left the industry after marrying a consistent sound engineer named Kevin Jackson, who was determined to be in her life forever. “My husband was my sound technician at the time, and our first date was at Pizza Hut,” he laughs. “He went out of business and we dated for 11 days straight. Six months later we got engaged, six months after that.” we were married. “She talks about their relationship,” divorcing us is not an option. There is no perfect marriage, and we have had our arguments, but we fear God and we are respectful to each other. The secret to a successful marriage is two forgiving people. “” Seventeen years later they have a thriving business and he is particularly supportive of their ministry. He is currently in the studio working on his Gospel Project and will announce the release of new music in the future. “This time I’m ready.” Stacy encourages everyone to “learn the business they want to be in, take advantage of their gifts and talents, find out what they are good at and don’t give up. Some people give up just before the break comes. Know who God is and you will know your purpose. “.
“Stacy, what do you want people to stop hearing about you?”
“I want them to know the real me. I didn’t get a chance to show that on some shows, like the article about ‘Unsung Hero’. And that’s one of the reasons I wrote my book. I want people to know that I didn’t. I am the same girl, I have renewed! “