Jesse Jackson
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The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born October 8, 1941) is a civil rights and political activist in the United States.
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Early Life
He was born as Jesse Louis Burns in a poor household in Greenville, South Carolina. He married Jacqueline Lavinia Brown on December 31, 1962. After attending the University of Illinois and North Carolina A&T University, he began to study divinity at the Chicago Theological Seminary (although not finishing his divinity studies), and began to organize in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the direction of Martin Luther King, Jr.. He was at King's side in Memphis when King was assassinated, April 4, 1968. He was ordained as a Baptist minister later that year.
He formed two non-profit organizations, PUSH (People United To Serve Humanity) in 1971 and the Rainbow Coalition in 1984. Both groups were merged in 1996. In the 1980's he emerged as the most visible African American political figure, and became a spokesman for civil rights issues.
Presidential Bid
In 1984 Jackson became the second African-American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for the President of the United States. He garnished 3.5 million votes during the primaries, third behind Gary Hart and Walter Mondale (who won the nomination). Through the process, Jackson helped confirm the black electorate's importance to the Democratic Party. During the campaign, however, Jackson made an off-the-record reference to Jews as "Hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown", for which he later apologized.
He also mounted a presidential campaign in 1988. During these campaigns he charged that the conservative Republican policies exemplified by President Ronald Reagan were turning back the clock on civil rights and neglecting the poor of America's cities.
Current Activities
While Jesse Jackson was initially critical of the "third way" or more moderate policies of Bill Clinton, he became a key ally in gaining black support for Clinton, and eventually became a close advisor and friend of the Clinton family. Clinton awarded Jesse Jackson the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor bestowed on civilians. His son, Jesse Jackson, Jr., also emerged as a political figure, becoming a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Jackson has been involved in several negotiations with foreign leaders to release Americans imprisoned as hostages. In 1984 he won the release of the United States Navy pilot Robert Goodman from Syria. He has met with Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, and Slobodan Milosevic in efforts to free various prisoners as well. Jackson is also known as a passionate orator, in the tradition of Southern and African American protestant preaching.
During the contested election of 2000, Jackson quickly became involved in pro-Democrat demonstrations in the state of Florida. Shortly afterward, it was revealed that Jackson (married since 1963) had an affair with a young staffer, Karin Stanford, that resulted in the birth of daughter Ashley. This seriously damaged Jesse Jackson's credibility even among long-time supporters, and - for a brief time - prompted Jackson to withdraw from activism. Jackson appeared at several anti-war rallies in opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, Jesse Jackson has often been the center of controversy. Critics of Jackson claim that he has exploited poverty stricken black Americans in order to make money and gain political power.
Controversies
Although Jackson is known mainly for his works in the civil rights arena, many people have alleged that Jackson uses his influence and reputation primarily for personal gain. Jackson is seen by his critics as using racial politics to advance himself and his family's financial interests. Some of the allegations are covered in the book Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson by Kenneth R. Timmerman.
Budweiser Boycott
In 1982, Jackson launched a "this Bud's a dud" boycott of Anheuser Busch because it had only three black owned distributors nationwide. After languishing for over a decade, the boycott movement received a boost when Budweiser’s River North distributorship was accused by several of its black employees that they were being denied promotions. Jackson came to the aid of the employees in 1997 shortly after the first EEOC suit was filed.
Shortly thereafter, Anheuser Busch contributed $10,000 to Jackson’s Citizenship Education Fund, contributed over $500,000 to the Rainbow PUSH coalition, and established a $10 million fund to help non-whites buy distributorships.
In 1998 the River North distributorship was purchased by two of Jackson’s sons, Yusef and Jonathan Jackson. They refuse to publicly disclose how much they paid for the distributor but the business was worth an estimated $25 to $30 million. Shortly after the sale, Jackson dropped his prior support of the Anheuser Busch boycott campaign.
The St. Louis American, a black-owned paper in St. Louis, reported that Jackson had demanded $500 each from local black businessmen to help support the Anheuser Busch boycott campaign. Jackson sued the paper for libel but dropped the suit when a judge ruled that the paper could inspect the finances of Jackson as well as his many organizations in order to prove their case.
Jackson’s critics, such as Chicago Sun-Times reporter Tim Novak, claim that Jackson had in effect blackmailed Anheuser Busch into selling the distributorship to Jackson’s sons in exchange for Jackson dropping the boycott. They also point out that Yusef and Jonathan Jackson had no prior experience in alcoholic distribution or any other business. [1]
Family
- Wife: Jacqueline Lavinia (Brown) Jackson (m. 1963)
- Son: Jesse Jackson, Jr. (b. March 11, 1965)
- Son: Yusef DuBois Jackson
- Son: Jonathan Jackson
- Daughter: Sanitita Jackson
- Daughter: Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson
- Mistress: Karin Stanford
- Daughter: Ashley (b. May 1999)
Quotes
- "Keep hope alive!"
- "Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
- "Leadership has a harder job to do than just choose sides. It must bring sides together."
- "We need a regime change in this country."
- "George W. Bush is unliterate."
See also: I Am - Somebody
External link
bg:Джеси Джексън
