Searching For Another Jesse Jackson

There was a sense of excitement at my parents’ home back in 1984.For the first time in history, my family, like most other black folks we knew, truly believed that a black man had a good chance of becoming the president of the United States.My father hit the streets, encouraging everyone he knew to cast a vote for the Reverend Jesse Jackson. As a child, I passed out posters and Jesse Jackson buttons and proudly watched as the Baptist preacher took to the stage of the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco to rally against the Reagan regime.After losing the Democratic primary to Walter Mondale, Rev. Jackson was back at it four years later, this time registering more than 2 million new voters – most of them African Americans who had never voted before.His candidacy inspired us and made us feel proud to be black. We chanted “Keep Hope Alive!” with him and cheered at his masterful use of language, quite similar to that of his mentor, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.More importantly, Rev. Jackson’s candidacy opened the way for other African Americans across the country to run for office and get elected in cities and states where blacks were not in the majority. The momentum from Rev. Jackson’s campaign a year earlier helped Mayor Dinkins win in 1989, becoming the first black mayor of New York City. In 1990, Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, the first African American to hold such an office. In smaller cities across the nation, blacks were running and winning in record numbers.In the years following, African Americans who worked on Rev. Jackson’s presidential campaign went on to occupy prominent positions within the Democratic Party, ultimately forcing the party to respond to the needs of their most loyal voting bloc. For example, Ron Brown, who served as Rev. Jackson’s campaign manager in his run for president, became the chairman of the Democratic National Committee and played a crucial role in helping Bill Clinton defeat the elder George Bush in 1992. He later became secretary of commerce during Mr. Clinton’s administration.A former secretary of labor, Alexis Herman, who served during Mr. Clinton’s administration, and others also came out of the Jackson presidential campaign.Today blacks are disproportionately underrepresented in electoral politics. Of the 100 U.S. senators, only one – Barack Obama of Illinois – is black. And New York City, with its significant black population, has only elected only one African American mayor in its entire history.The reality is that blacks have been dissuaded from running for office because they have not always been able to raise the necessary funds in order to be successful, and in some cases have worried that white racism would ultimately keep them from being elected.Still, there are enough examples now of blacks winning in largely white districts across the country to suggest that if blacks run with the goal of bringing together progressive whites, Asians, Latinos, and gays and lesbians, as Rev. Jackson did in his presidential run, they can win.I am convinced that the city comptroller, William Thompson, who is black, will become the next mayor of New York City.In the state’s attorney general race, Charlie King, who is black, shouldn’t be discounted, either. So far, Mr. King has raised the necessary funds to keep himself in the race against two well-known challengers.And City Council Member Leroy Comrie’s quest to become speaker of the council was also encouraging. Although Mr. Comrie was ultimately defeated by Council Member Christine Quinn, his decision to run was important and symbolic.Clearly, Rev. Jackson’s historic run for president fundamentally changed American politics, ultimately providing African Americans with the belief that they could become powerbrokers in the democratic process. All across the country, black politicians have consistently told me that had Rev. Jackson not run, they probably would not have sought office.“We empower politically with our vote,” Rev. Jackson once told me. “Now we must empower economically with our dollar.”This week, the civil rights leader is in New York City preparing to kick off his annual Wall Street Project conference. He says he wants to help African Americans gain entry to America’s corporate boardrooms, a place where they have historically been denied access.“Some people will ask: ‘Why are we still meeting on Wall Street? And what are we asking for?’ Rev. Jackson said. “Our answer is that we are coming to fight for justice, for inclusion, for access to technology, industry, capital, and to even the playing field.”

Searching For Another Jesse Jackson

Searching For Another Jesse Jackson

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