America's broken promise

Jackson discusses King's life, the dream, fight for equality

Chris Labzda / senior photographer Rev. Jesse Jackson answers questions from the media before he made his speech.

Encouraging solutions to America's broken promise, the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke last night in Wilson Hall Auditorium.

"This passing year, I've become more anxious and a bit disturbed … on the romanticizing of [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s] life," he said.

As a result of the romanticizing, King's movement has "become lullaby songs — [it] takes away his toughness on America," Jackson said.

Often people focus no longer on the hardships endured during King's life and the Civil Rights Movement, he said, adding that people need to fulfill the promise to "close gaps that separate people from people.

"We must teach the promise on his birthday," he said. "He had to die for us to celebrate."

Jackson said this is a pivotal year in many ways. "Today we face a curious mix of racial politics, class divisions and global isolation," he said.

Jackson added, "The gaps created during 256 years of slavery … are significantly present" in today's politics.

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision 50 years ago, which made apartheid illegal in the United States, Americans are "still living in the aftershocks," Jackson said.

The roots of racial and economic inequalities go even further back than the 20th century, he said.

"The promise made in 1865 [during the Emancipation Proclamation] had been broken," he said. "We don't speak of America's broken promise."

Today's issues: The broken promise
Jackson also addressed many issues concerning Americans in the next presidential election.

"This is a big election year for America, and real choices must be made," he said.

While he is not endorsing any particular candidate, Jackson said he wishes people will vote for their economic interests instead of their racial fears in order to gain political clout.

He said, however, this was the greatest challenge for Southern whites who are "driven to vote [by] their racial fears over economics."

Most working poor are from the South, according to Jackson, and "most poor folks aren't on Welfare — they work every day."

Some Americans are "fighting for the right to remain poor," he said. "You voted for the right not to have a place at the table and you won."

He said they got what "they voted for, but didn't know what they were bargaining for."

By focusing on an agenda of shared economic security, the dream is restored, he said.
Another issue that Jackson focused on was the war in Iraq.

"We had every reason to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda because they hit us," Jackson said. However, he said he felt Iraq never was determined to be an imminent threat.

A global coalition was formed during the war in Afghanistan, he said. However, "the world stands by as we die daily [in Iraq]."

People of lower economic standing are sacrificing for the war in Iraq, he said. "The war is fought by the poor, paid for by the poor — for the rich," he added. "That is not the American dream."

About 500 people have died, and thousands have been injured since the war began, according to Jackson. "There are no congresspeople's children in Iraq tonight."

Jackson said King, if alive today, would find America's diplomacy to the world discouraging.

The White House needs an open-door policy, he said. "We are paying too much taxes, shedding too much blood in Iraq … to be shut out of the White House."

Jackson also addressed the state of the American economy.

"We are trapped in an economy tilted toward the top 1 percent," he said. He added that everyone should follow King's bottom-up — instead of top-down — method of helping people.

Jackson said too many Americans cannot afford further education, adding that tuition costs cannot continue to rise. "It costs too much to go to school in America," he said.

Jackson said King's "mission was to preach the gospel, not to the fund-raising rich, but to the poor."

Restoring the promise
Jackson encouraged people to "reinvest in America" to restore the earlier promise made.

"To get the nation's attention, to change the nation's priorities, to establish a floor in which no American would fall," was what Jackson said he hoped was accomplished.

More studies need to be done on the racial gap between infant mortality, life expectancy, the criminal justice system and access to capital, Jackson said. With more concrete evidence, the gaps can begin to close, he added.

Another solution Jackson offered was to have each state create funded programs to assess the gaps and bridge them.

Jackson also said when people unlearn the stereotypes they have been programmed to believe, unity can be achieved.

"We don't need diversity — we need equality," he said. "If we have fair rules, we can settle for equality."

Jackson asked the audience why blacks performed so well in athletics. "Is it some special gene? I think not," he said. "It's when the players are equal, the rules are public and the goals are clear we do well."

Another way Jackson said the promise could be restored would be to improve diplomacy and foreign policy.

"Our foreign policy has us in severe isolation," he said. "We need to regain our standing in the world."

Jackson, who said King was devoted to his schoolwork, also offered specific advice for students.

"Focus on your grades and getting yourself out of here," he said. "Whether you're white, black or brown, preparation matters."

In addition to preparation, people need to build character, which, according to Jackson, is the way one reacts to a situation. He added, "Beyond color, beyond culture, up in the high ground, there is character."

President Linwood Rose said students should heed Jackson's advice to study. "When he spoke about preparedness, it was particularly meaningful," he said.

Sophomore Wesli Spencer, Sophomore Class Council president, served as the master of ceremonies. "Jackson's quote about level playing fields was such an empowering thing for me," he said. "I felt so honored to be involved and to hear his words."

Jackson offered some final advice to the whole audience.

"You can't just admire [King] because he died for us," Jackson said. "You must follow him."