The Jackson Five with Michael holding the mic in front
Before the end of Jim Crow, black groups like the Jackson Five and entertainers like James Brown, Ray Charles, and Gladys Knight made their living on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” a string of black-owned honky-tonks, nightclubs, and more elaborate theaters. The circuit weaved throughout the Southeast and Midwest, stretching from Nashville to Chicago, to the Jackson’s hometown of Gary, Indiana, and into New York. The Jacksons would have often done consecutive one-night stands, frequently more than 800 miles apart. The Chitlin’ Circuit was crucial to artists like the Jacksons because it was the only way to perform when the white media did not cover black artists. Gladys Knight recalled seeing the Jackson Five for the first time at the Regal in Chicago and immediately calling Motown’s Barry Gordy telling him he had to audition them.