Jesse Jackson, Sr.

Rev. Jesse Jackson

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is the President and founder of the RainbowPUSH Coalition. He is one of America’s most well-known civil rights, religious and political figures.

He was born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina. Jackson went to University of Illinois on a football scholarship, but transferred to North Carolina A&T State University, graduating in 1964. He started studying theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary, but began working full-time in the Civil Rights Movement, not receiving his earned Master of Divinity Degree until 2000.

Reverend Jackson married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963. They have five children: Santita Jackson, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Esq., and Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Jr."

Chicago Freedom Movement

In 1966 Father William Hogan, a Communist Party USA supporter, served as recording secretary of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, the group that, together with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, formed the Chicago Freedom Movement, which led the massive civil disobedience direct action campaign of the summer of 1966 in Chicago.

Hogan said that while King was "first among equals," the composition of the CFM staff was exceptional and reflected the scope of the movement: James Bevel, C. T. Vivian, Al Sampson, James Orange, Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young, who went on to become mayor of Atlanta and later U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

According to Hogan..."All were veterans of major battles in the South," he said, adding that key players from Chicago included Edwin Berry of the Urban League, Bob Lucas of CORE and Carl Fuqua of the NAACP.

"In addition to traditional civil rights organizations, CFM included representatives from the religious and liberal communities. Some of the unions affiliated with AFL-CIO Industrial Union Department provided staff assistance.

Presidential hopeful

One of the front runners for the Democratic nomination for President in 1984 and 1988, Jesse Jackson ended second only to Michael Dukakis in 1988, and was plainly disappointed not to be picked as Dukakis's Vice Presidential running mate.

IPS connection

In 1984 Institute for Policy Studies director Robert Borosage was brought into Jesse Jackson's campaign by IPS fellow Roger Wilkins, a former assistant attorney general and a nephew of the late NAACP president Roy Wilkins.

To Jackson, he was a senior adviser. The relationship between "Jesse and IPS is built on me", says Wilkins.

Jesse and I have known each other for a very long time, more than 20 years, since he was working for Martin Luther King Jr. and I was in the Department of Justice.

As an older fellow I have not always approved of everything Jesse has done; nor have I always approved of his style. Having said that, my sense is that his run in 1984 was historic and constructive.

Jack O'Dell

A principal advisor to Jackson for more than 20 years was Jack O'Dell. O'Dell assisted Jackson during his campaign for the Presidential nomination. He was International Affairs Director for Jackson's Operation PUSH in Chicago from the early 1960s onwards, and later for Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, where he now served into at least the late 1980s.

O'Dell had a long record as a prominent and active member of the Communist Party USA . During the 1950s, he was the head organizer for the Communist Party USA in the South. In the 1960s he became an advisor to Martin Luther King. He was simultaneously serving on the National Committee of the CPUSA under the pseudonym of "Cornelius James."

O'Dell was a member of the Soviet front World Peace Council. Dee Bates of Jackson's Operation PUSH is a member of the U.S. Peace Council, the America affiliate of this front.

Henry Reeve Medical Brigades

Marguerite Horberg July 10 2020·

Meet a few of the amazing actors, poets and activists expressing solidarity with the Henry Reeve Medical Brigades who have treated Covid patients in more than 30 countries - Concert for Cuba salutes these humanitarian workers and calls for the end of the US blockade of Cuba. 2 nights of music and solidarity streaming live exclusively on HotHouseGlobal at Twitch.tv/hothouseglobal. Register https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concert-for-cuba-tickets-111083545876 — with Councilmember Mike Bonin, Mike Farrell, David Soul, Danny Glover, Felix Gonzales, Ed Asner, Baltazar Castillo, Jesse Jackson, Sr., Judith LeBlanc, Jesus Garcia, Medea Benjamin, Jonathan Jackson, Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, Medea Benjamin, Ronnie Malley, Ronnie Malley, Chelis Lopez and Judith LeBlanc LMT.

Congress on Religion and Policies

Theologies of Peace and Justice: A Congress on Religion and Politics. Chicago Theological Seminary May 27-30, 1988.

Plenary Speakers:

• Jesse Jackson
• Michael Harrington
• Rosemary Ruether
• Bonganjalo Goba
• Cornel West
• Arthur Waskow
• James Cone
• Jim Wallis
• Martin Marty
• John Cort
• Rebecca Chopp
• Harvey Cox
• Michael Lerner
• Schubert Ogden
• Robert Aitken Roshi

For conference information please contact: Religion & Politics Congress Rm 1201, 1608 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60647

"In Celebration of Michael Harrington"

"In Celebration of Michael Harrington" was held June 30 1988 Roseland Ballroom 239 West 52nd Street.

The Program

• Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan
• Edward Asner
• Hon. Edward M. Kennedy
• Michael Manley
• Steve Max
• Eleanor Holmes Norton
• William W. Winpisinger
• Rev. Jesse L. Jackson (invited)
• Michael Harrington
• Tommy Makem

Tickets: $125 each. A $250 contribution enables you to attend a reception with the speakers prior to the Celebration. Proceeds from the tribute will endow The Next America Foundation, a new policy center Mike has created to be a powerful voice for justice and democracy in public debate. Make contributions payable to The Commonwealth Foundation and mail to l5 Dutch Street, Suite 500. New York, NY I 0038. All contributions are tax deductible. For more information about the Tribute, The Next America Foundation, or the Commemorative Journal, contact Jane Welna at (212) 962-0390.

Freedomways connection

The Communist Party USA created Freedomways magazine as a propaganda vehicle with which to reach into the black intellectual and academic community. It was established in the mid-1960's by members of the CPUSA and well-documented sympathizers/supporters. It billed itself as "A Quarterly Review of the Freedom Movement."

Newly declassified documents from Operation SOLO, an FBI program to infiltrate the Communist Party USA, reveal that a journal called Freedomways, which was influential in the black community for decades, was subsidized by the Soviet and Chinese Communist Parties.

Freedomways has been called “one of the most influential African-American literary and political journals of the 1960s and 1970s.” It began in 1961 and ceased publication in 1986.

During the 25 years it served as a propaganda organ for the CPUSA and Soviet front organizations such as the World Peace Council, Freedomways published articles by such figures as:

• Derrick Bell, one of Barack Obama’s academic mentors and a Harvard professor;
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• John Lewis, a Democratic member of Congress from Georgia
• Jesse Jackson , a former aide to King and Democratic candidate for president.

Jesse Jackson, was hailed by Freedomways as a “nationally known Freedom Fighter” when it ran his 1972 article on “Three Challenges to Organized Labor.”

Founding conference

The founding of the Congress of Afrikan Peoples in Atlanta in 1970 was attended by 3,000 people, representing a broad cross section of the mainstream Black Liberation Movement and community; and was attended by mass activists, and well-known and diverse personages like Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, Owusu Sadaukai and Louis Farrakhan. CAP brought together in a national organization some of the major currents of the cultural nationalist and Pan Africanist trends of the Black movement, with hundreds of revolutionary and progressive activist cadre in chapters in 17 cities.

National Black Political Convention

Unity June 22, 1984

Mayor Richard Hatcher, Rep. Charles Diggs, Amiri Baraka, Jesse Jackson at the National Black Political Convention, Gary Indiana 1972.

Socialist Debs award

Every year since the mid 1960s the Indiana based Eugene V. Debs Foundation holds Eugene Debs Award Banquet in Terre Haute, to honor an approved social or labor activist. The 1978 honoree, was Jesse Jackson.

Yasser Arafat connection

Jesse Jackson, Sr. met Yasser Arafat in 1981.

Syrian trip

Another prominent Jackson aide was Mary Tate, also a leading member of the World Peace Council.

Tate went with Jackson to Damascus, Syria in 1983 to negotiate for the release of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman, who had been shot down and imprisoned by the Syrians. Some observers believe this episode had been simply planned in advance by the Jackson staff and the pro-communist Syrians as a way of embarrassing Reagan.

Syria helped pay for some expenses of the trip.

Pro-Grenada

Jackson was a supporter of the Marxist-Leninist regime in Grenada before the U.S. organized the liberation of that island.

Dessima Williams, the Marxist ambassador of that regime in Washington, remained in this country following the liberation long after her diplomatic visa had expired, stirring up opposition to U.S. "militarism."

The INS finally arrested her and ordered her deportation. Jackson's wife, Jacqueline Jackson, then offered to take her into personal custody.

Cuban church visit

June 22-28 1984, at the Methodist Church 23rd and K Streets a "Theological Seminar: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memoriam" was held the Valedo District of Havana, Cuba.

Granma, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper reported that the organizers were the Ecumenical Council of Cuba, the Baptist Worker-Student Coordination of Cuba, and the Caribbean Council of Churches.

The Black Theology Project was listed as a US sponsor, and the Soviet controlled Christian Peace Conference was also represented.

The appearance of US Presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, with Cuban president Fidel Castro, "was the highlight of a King memorial service attended by some 300 representatives of US, Caribbean and Cuban churches.

Jackson was introduced by Benjamin Chavis.

Other attendees included George C.L. Cummings, instructor in Theology of the Chicago Theological Seminary, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor UCC Trinity Church Chicago, Tyrone Fitts, National Council of Churches Racial Justice program, Thelma C. Adair, executive director Church Women United, William Babley, director Racial Union Program Methodist Church, Esmerelda Brown Methodist Church, Calvin Bults Abyssinian Baptist Church, James Cone Union Theological Seminary, Howard Dodson chairman Black Theology Project, Jualynne Dodson dean Union Theological Seminary, Noel Eskind Emory University, Robert Franklin, professor of Ethics University of Chicago, Dwight Hopkins, vice chairman Black Theology Project, president Union Theological Seminary student association, Carolyn Knight, assistant pastor Canaan Baptist Church New York, Mark Ridley-Thomas, executive director Southern Christian Leadership Conference - West, Los Angeles, Gayraud Wilmore, dean Interdenominational Theological Seminary New York.

'84 Presidential run

Communist Workers Party

The Communist Workers Party supported Jesse Jackson in 1984.

Filipino connection

Jesse Jackson met with several prominent Filipino activists circa May 1984. All were affiliated with the Union of Democratic Filipinos/Line of March.

Pictured Jesse Jackson, Leni Marin of Filipinos for Jackson, Geline Avila, and Rene Cruz.

Blasting Marcos

Ang Katipunan, July 1985

LOM

Cuba and Nicaragua

Jackson and Castro, 1984

Frontline July 23 1984

In June and July 1984 during his presidential campaign Jackson toured Cuba and Nicaragua partly at those governments' expense.

He praised Castro and the Sandinistas and the Salvadorean communist guerillas and being photographed with Fidel Castro.

Supporting CISPES

Jackson and several other prominent Democrats have supported CISPES (The Committee in Solidarity with the People of EI Salvador), which supported the communist guerillas in El Salvador.

Documents captured in a Salvador safe house by the Salvador Army and published by the U.S. State Department revealedthat CISPES is a Communist front organized by a Salvador communist agent visiting the U.S. in 1980.

Supporting the PLO

Jackson has shown consistent support for the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasser Arafat. In 1984 Jackson and two Democratic Congressmen, John Conyers and George Crockett, were among the signers of a telegram sent by a PLO support group to President Reagan demanding "immediate sanctions against Israel."

Syria

In 1984 Jesse Jackson was in Syria with Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker.

Trying to save the Olympics

When Moscow, two other East European nations and Vietnam boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Rev. Jesse Jackson and John Conyers attempted to set up a special committee of athletes, civic leaders and members of Congress to "create a climate in which the decision can be changed."

The group held its first meeting in Conyers office may 11. Jackson, after a one hour meeting with Soviet Foreign minister Dobrynin, said that both he and the committee were willing to go to Moscow.

"I would say we have a about a one in ten chance" Conyers' press secretary Julian Epstein said. "They were firm in their position, but not final...The lines to the Soviet Embassy are being kept open.They are really bending over backwards to accommodate us. We will find out exactly under what conditions they would come back, and then get back with the US, Soviet, and international Olympic committees to see what we can mediate."

Percy Sutton "Money man"

The Expert Red, Feb. 1985, page 15

Percy Sutton was reportedly a "money man" during Jesse Jackson's 1984 run for the US Presidency.

In Geneva with Gorbachev

Jesse Jackson, Sissy Farenthold,Robert Borosage

In 1985 Robert Borosage, Sissy Farenthold and Rev. Jesse Jackson as members of delegation who met with Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva, at the Reagan/Gorbachev Summit.

CBTU

Jesse Jackson, Sr. addressed the 1988 Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention.

Tribute to Golub and Montgomery

ON November 16, 1989, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline Jackson served on the Tribute Committee for the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Tribute to Leon Golub and Lucy Montgomery, held at the Congress Hotel, Chicago.

RainbowPush Coalition

Reverend Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago, IL. He also founded the National Rainbow Coalition. He merged the two in September 1996, creating the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

LRS encouragement

Unity February 1984

League of Revolutionary Struggle encouraged Jesse Jackson to run.

Panther roots

Former Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver, who broke with the Panthers and became an active anti-communist after experiences in Cuba and pro-communist countries in North Africa and Eastern Europe, said that the Rainbow Coalition has roots in the Black Panther movement. He said it uses simply "warmed over" 1960s Panther rhetoric, even including its name. Old Panther newspapers, he pointed out, refer to a "rainbow coalition" of blacks, whites and Puerto Ricans.

Communist Party support

The Communist Party USA's Daily World said on April 13, 1984 during the Presidential primaries:

The answer to Reagan and Bush is to redouble efforts to build and strengthen the all peoples' front, a vital part of which is the campaign being waged on the issues by Jesse Jackson.

Communist Party vice presidential candidate Angela Davis added:

The Jesse Jackson campaign is going to force the Democratic Party to speak on issues that they ordinarily would not address.

Gus Hall, when asked who the Communist Party would support for President in the 1988 election, said:

As a political party we do not endorse candidates of other political parties. Communists as individuals work in the election campaign, even in the campaigns of other candidates, not only Communist candidates.

I think our members will work for the candidates they think have the most progressive, most advanced positions. At this stage most members of the Party will be working for Jesse Jackson on the basis that he does have an advanced position. But we do not endorse any candidate, including Jackson.

Workers World support

A strong supporter of the Rainbow Coalition was the Workers World Party, an extreme Communist group that has had links with the violent Weather Underground. The WWP backed Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition in 1984 through one of its fronts, the All Peoples' Congress.

Carpenter connection

Socialist activist Tim Carpenter cut his teeth on campaigns that recognized the connection between transforming politics and transforming the country: as a kid working "behind the Orange Curtain" (in then hyper-conservative Orange County) for George McGovern in 1972 and for the remarkable radical intervention that was Tom Hayden's 1976 US Senate bid. Carpenter was a trusted aide to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1988 "Rainbow Coalition" run for the presidency, an inner-circle strategist for Jerry Brown's 1992 presidential run (addressing that year's Democratic National Convention and urging delegates to "Save Our Party" from ideological compromises and corporate influence), a key figure in Dennis Kucinich's antiwar presidential campaign of 2004.

Meeting Gorbachev

In Geneva, Switzerland, in November 1985, the late President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, met to hold their first face to face talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, and members of Women for a Meaningful Summit were at the event and participated in a "peace march". Marching were now-Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).and Bella Abzug 0f New York.

The marchers made their way to the hotel where the summit conference was being held. When they arrived, Bella Abzug greeted a German woman using fluent German. The woman held a seat in the German parliament, and was a member of the German Green Party. Abzug told the woman that she had a “big surprise”: a private meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev. Bella Abzug, Barbara Boxer, Jesse Jackson and Rep. Patricia Schroeder all met with Gorbachev.

SANE/Freeze founding board

Unity, December 7, 1987

The founding board of SANE/Freeze in 1987 included Butch Wing, Jesse Jackson, William Sloane Coffin, Pam Desch, Nativo Lopez, Barbara Shailor, Aubrey McCutcheon, Susana Cepeda.

Adviser Ron Dellums

During the 1988 Presidential Election campaign, far left Congressman Ron Dellums became a prominent adviser on Defense to Jesse Jackson.

Endorsed Nydia Velasquez

In her 1992 New York Democratic primary, Nydia Velasquez ran against two other Puerto Ricans Elizabeth Colon and Ruben Franco, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. Velasquez won the primary, receiving endorsements from New York mayor and Democratic Socialists of America member David Dinkins, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressmen Jose Serrano and Edolphus Towns, Local 1199 leader Dennis Rivera and Teamsters leader Barry Feinstein and Puerto Rico governor Rafael Hernandez Colon.

Alabama event

According to Danzy Senna, Stanford Daily Editorial staff;

Nine Stanford students joined leaders from across the nation last week in Selma, Ala., to re-enact and commemorate a 1965 voting rights march and discuss the unfinished business of the civil rights movement. The Stanford group, calling itself "Project Democracy II," went to record the history of the original march, called "Bloody Sunday" because it ended in bloodshed and violence, but in the process found a new chapter of history being written before its eyes. "I was figuring we'd meet some of our civil rights heroes, we'd sing some freedom songs and that would be it," said senior Stephen Ostrander, "but right away we realized that the struggle was still going on." The group found that the newest emphasis in the civil rights movement is on educational rights.

Present were Lyzette Settle, Dana Johnson, Kimera Koff, Jay Tucker and Michelle Graves marching behind a Black Student Union banner. As well as Steve Phillips, Canetta Ivy, and Christy Brady.

Leaders of the week long event included Jesse Jackson, Rose Sanders, Hosea Williams, Coretta Scott King and Rep. John Lewis.

Cuba visit

In December 1993 Rev. Jesse Jackson and Local 1199 president Dennis Rivera spent a 5 day holiday in Havana Cuba. the two Rainbow Coalition leaders pledged their support for HR 2229, introduced into Congress by Rep. Charles Rangel, to end the blockade and normalize relations.

Jackson was invited by the Cuban Ecumenical Council. The pair met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina and Finance Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez.

CBC/NOI Alliance

At a rare public gathering, September 16, 1993, a diverse group of African-American leaders pledged greater unity within their sometimes fractured ranks, including the announcement of a more formalized working relationship between the Congressional Black Caucus and the Nation of Islam.

In a declaration of unity that brought a standing ovation from the crowd that included factions that have been at odds in the past, caucus chairman Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) said, "No longer will we allow people to divide us."

The agreement between the caucus and the often controversial Nation of Islam means that the two groups will consult on legislative issues and develop common strategies, much like the caucus and the NAACP have done on major issues such as the Lani Guinier nomination and President Clinton's budget package, he said.

The occasion was a caucus-sponsored town hall meeting entitled "Race in America," in which Mfume, Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan, NAACP executive director Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Jesse Jackson, a former presidential candidate, were brought together to discuss what all agreed was the sorry state of race relations and solutions to the problems facing African Americans.

In the process, some tensions in their ranks surfaced unexpectedly and further underscored what all had agreed was the need for greater unity.

But Mfume, in the spirit of unity, announced at the close of the program that, "We want the word to go forward today to friend and foe alike that the Congressional Black Caucus, after having entered into a sacred covenant with the NAACP to work for real and meaningful change, will enter into that same covenant with the Nation of Islam" and other organizations, such as fraternities, sororities and professional groups...

The announcement of the formal Congressional Black Caucus-Nation of Islam alliance capped the event. The caucus and individual members have had informal relations with the Farrakhan group for years. But the Nation of Islam has not been deeply involved in national legislative issues; thus what positions it would take on various public policy issues is unknown.

Tabankin soiree

In February 1995, a private party was held in New York to celebrate Margery Tabankin who had been recently chosen to head Steven Spielberg's Righteous Person's Foundation, (Tabankin also ran the Streisand Foundation). Attendees included Jesse Jackson, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, Streisand publicist Ken Sunshine, Rev. Al Sharpton, Ruth Messinger, Charles Schumer, Mark Green, Basil Paterson, David Paterson, David Dinkins, New York Urban League President Dennis Walcott, and Warner Records chairman Danny Goldberg. The taslk focused on how "liberals could take the political spotlight back from the conservatives"

Campaign for America's Future

In 1996 Jesse Jackson, was one of the original 130 founders of Campaign for America's Future.

DC "home rule" supporter

On Sept. 3, 1997, some 1,000 marchers descended on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to present their grievances to Congress. Marches in Washington are a regular occurrence, but this one was out of the ordinary in that it consisted almost wholly of D.C. citizens with a demand from the city's neighborhoods: to stop trampling on home rule in the District.

Speakers at the rally—including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Ca) and local activists—decried recent actions by Congress that had robbed the District of the limited measure of home rule it once enjoyed.

Borosage on Board

Institute for Policy Studies leader Robert Borosage has served as an issues adviser to several progressive political campaigns, including those of Senators Carol Moseley Braun, Barbara Boxer and Paul Wellstone. In 1988, he was Senior Issues Advisor to the presidential campaign of Reverend Jesse Jackson.

TranAfrica Nigeria letter

In an attempt to prod the military government of Nigeria toward a return to civilian rule, TransAfrica Forum's Randall Robinson enlisted the aid of politicians, educators and celebrities in order to focus the eyes of the world on human-rights abuses in Africa's most populous nation and return democracy to what many consider Africa's best hope. In a March 1995 letter to General Sani Abacha, who came to power in a 1993 military coup, Robinson accused Abacha of killing political opponents and shutting down the press. Robinson beseeched Abacha "to expedite the restoration of democracy" to Nigeria's 100 million people or face "incalculable damage" and "eventual economic and political isolation of your regime."

The letter was signed by a host of prominent Blacks: author Maya Angelou, actors Danny Glover, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Joseph Lowery; musician and composer Quincy Jones; TV personality Bryant Gumbel; acting NAACP head Earl T. Shinhoster; International Human Rights Group director Gay McDougall; Harvard Law Professor and former Judge Leon Higginbotham, Jr.; National Urban League president Hugh Price; and a majority of Congressional Black Caucus members, including Chairman Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL), both House Subcommittee on Africa members.

Anti CCRI campaign/DSAer?

Democratic Left, November / December 1996, page 19

In 1996 Democratic Socialists of America activists in California were deeply involved in the unsuccessful struggle to defeat Proposition 209, the California Civil Rights initiative, which sought to ban "affirmative action". At DSA's 1995 National Convention, the organization made opposition to CCRI a "major focus for our Activist Agenda".

According to campaign co-ordinator, Sacramento DSA leader Duane Campbell, "several prominent DSAers also contributed to the effort against 209. DSA Honorary Chair Dolores Huerta was a tireless campaigner and fundraiser. Huerta, alongwith Jesse Jackson, Eleanor Smeal, Patricia Ireland and Elizabeth Toledo, participated in a Freedom Bus tour throughout California, Each of them spoke from their own views on the significance of this campaign in building a spirit of hope and of struggle. The tour, well covered in the media, clearty showed the need to work together to build broad coalitions of labor, civil rights, and women's organizations..

Congressional Progressive Caucus

In 1997 Chicago DSA member Bruce Bentley wrote;

There is a class struggle in process in the Congress with the Progressive Caucus around such issues as the Welfare Bill, NAFTA and Single Payer Health Care.

As a result of this DSA's Political Director Christine Riddiough organized a meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus with the purpose and cogent task as to: "How can we unite our forces on a common agenda?" Those in attendance included Richard Trumka, Noam Chomsky, Patricia Ireland, William Greider and Jesse Jackson.

"The Progressive Challenge: Capitol Hill Forum"

On January 9, 1997, over 600 people attended "The Progressive Challenge: Capitol Hill Forum" sponsored by the House Progressive Caucus, Democratic Socialists of America, and a host of other progressive organizations.

The primary goal of this day-long "kick-off" forum was to "identify the unifying values shared by progressives at this point in US history, to help define core elements of a forward-looking progressive agenda, and to pinpoint ways to connect that agenda with the concerns of millions of disillusioned people who lack voices in present politics and policy-making."

After a welcome by Representative Bernie Sanders, an impressive array of legislators, activists, and thinkers offered their insights. Senator Paul Wellstone, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Patricia Ireland of NOW, Richard Trumka of theAFL-CIO, Noam Chomsky, William Greider of Rolling Stone, and DSA Honorary Chair Barbara Ehrenreich were among the many who spoke.

Some emphasized the importance of the conventional, if difficult, process of progressive candidates building grassroots campaigns that treat voters with intelligence and challenge prevailing wisdom regarding what values and issues motivate ordinary Americans struggling to make ends meet-as opposed to using polls and focus groups to concoct "designer" campaigns to appeal to upscale "soccer moms." Other speakers reminded those present that great changes are made by people acting outside of the corridors of power to define justice and "political reality," and the electoral and legislative processes are not the only arenas worthy of activists' attention.

Watsonville UFW march

In 1997 the United Farm Workers, with the support and participation of the AFL-CIO, mobilized over 30,000 farmworkers and supporters in the Strawberry Capitol of the World: Watsonville, California. The march was lead by UFW leaders, Jesse Jackson, John Sweeney, Ron Carey of the Teamsters Union, Martin Sheen, and a "host of dignitaries". A particularly strong contingent came from the UCLA MeCha which mobilized close to 100 Chicano students.

Dolores Huerta, UFW vice president, an Honorary Chair of DSA , and a supporter of the DSA Latino Commission, welcomed the marchers.

Arturo Rodriguez, the new President of the United Farmworkers and heir to the tradition of Cesar Chavez, delivered his speech in English and in Spanish. John Sweeney and Richard Trumka addressed the crowd, with translation provided by Louis Valdez and others. DSA contingents came from Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego as well as the Latino Commission.

Los Angeles Martinez Jobs Bill support rally

On October 18 1997, Matthew Martinez, State senators Hilda Solis and Diane Watson, City Councilman Richard Alarcon, Miguel Contreras, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor and Geraldine Washington, president of the Los Angeles NAACP addressed a Los Angeles "show us the living wage jobs" rally, as part of a national day of action, calling on Congress to pass the Martinez Jobs Bill. there were concurrent rallies in nearly 20 cities, organized by the Communist Party USA dominated National Labor-Community Coalition For Public Works Jobs.

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Dolores Huerta, also agreed to address the rally.

DSA "Globalization From Below" conference

Democratic Left, Issue #1 1998, page 10

Globalization From Below was a conference held May 29 - 31 , 1998 in Chicago Illinois, organized by Democratic Socialists of America.

Invited speakers were Profirio Munoz-Ledo, PRD-Mexico; Audrey MacLaughlin, New Democratic Party-Canada; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers; Clare Short, Secretary of State for Overseas Development, UK; Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Rep. Danny Davis; Jose LaLuz, AFSCME, Karen Nussbaum, AFL-CIO; Stanley Gacek, AFL-CIO; Stephen Yokich, United Auto Workers; Enrique Herandez, Han Young/ Hyudai plant organizer, Tijuana.

Other activities

Reverend Jackson has campaigned for the presidential position twice. In 1984, his campaign registered one million new voters and won 3.5 million votes. His 1988, campaign registered over two million new voters and won seven million votes.

According to his biography on RainbowPUSH Coalition's website, in 1984, "he secured the release of captured Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria, and the release of 48 Cuban and Cuban-American prisoners in Cuba. He was the first American to bring hostages out of Kuwait and Iraq in 1990" and in 1999 he negotiated the release of U.S. hostage soldiers in Kosovo.

In 1991, the U.S. Post Office put his likeness on a pictorial postal cancellation, only the second living person to receive such an honor. He has been on the Gallup List of the Ten Most Respected Americans for more than a dozen years. He received the NAACP Spingarn Award. On August 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Reverend Jackson and other distinguished notables the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

He is the author of two books: Keep Hope Alive (South End Press, 1989), and Straight From the Heart (Fortress Press, 1987). In 1996, he co-authored the books Legal Lynching: Racism, Injustice, and the Death Penalty (Marlowe & Company, 1996) and It’s About The Money (Random House, 1999) with his son, U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr.

"In October 1997, Reverend Jackson was appointed by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as "Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa." In this official position Reverend Jackson traveled to several countries on the African continent and met with such national leaders as, President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Daniel T. Arap Moi of Kenya, and President Frederick J.T. Chiluba of Zambia."

Commission on Fairness in Media

In 1994 Eddie Wong, was Director, Commission on Fairness in Media, California Rainbow Coalition, Oakland. Lisa Gibson was part of his team.

On October 10, Jesse Jackson, and members of the Rainbow Coalitions's Commission for Fairness in the Media, met with Fox News President Joe Matolan to push for more minority inclusion in recruitment, training and protion of minorities.

The delegation included Casey Kasem, Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson, Sonny Skyhawk, Josefa Salinas and others.

Citizen Action of Illinois

In 1997 Jesse Jackson served on the board of directors of Citizen Action of Illinois.

Supported Peurto Rican rebel prisoners

In 1999, eleven imprisoned Puerto Rican independence fighters qwre released on parole from long prison terms in the US. they were Eliam Escobar, Dylcia Pagan, Alberto Rodriguez, Ida Luz Rodriguez, Alejandrina Torres, Adolfo Matos, Edwin Cortes, Ricardo Jiminez, Luis Rosa, Alicia Rodriguez and Carmen Valentin. A twelfth prisoner Juan Segarra Palmer, accepted an offer to nullify his fine and was due to be released in five years. Two other prisoners Antonio Comacho Negron and Oscar Lopez Rivera refused the clemency offer.

The clemency offers came after a long campaign that saw 75,000 people sign a petition in Puerto Rico and the US. The campaign, led by the Pro-Human Rights Committee of Puerto Rico, involved such activists as Coretta Scott King, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu and Dr. Aaron Tolen, President of the World Council of Churches.

Political leaders who supported the prisoners included Reps Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Nydia Velazquez (D, NY), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Ron Dellums (D-Calif.) and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

Socialist doctor

Jesse Jackson's personal physician was well known Democratic Socialists of America member Quentin Young.

"NO WAR, NO WAY"

Jan 19, 2003, ANSWER brought together an impressive array of speakers at two rallies—one that began at 11 a.m. in the sprawling National Mall, and a concluding rally at the Washington Shipyard.

Moonanum James, co-chair of United American Indians of New England and a Vietnam-era veteran, opened the rally by connecting the U.S. government’s ongoing racist war against Native peoples with their preparations for a racist war against Iraq.

Actors Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly addressed the crowd. So did political figures, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton; former-U.S. Congressperson Cynthia McKinney and Rep. John Conyers. The Rev. Lucius Walker read an anti-war statement from Rep. Charles Rangel.

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark called on those listening to “impeach Bush.” Blase Bonpane, from the Office of the Americas, traveled from Los Angeles to bring greetings. International representation included Ashraf El-Bayoumi from the Cairo Conference against U.S. Aggression on Iraq and Jeremy Corbyn from the Stop the War Coalition and Abe Tomoko spoke as a representative of the Lower House of the Japanese Parliament.

Struggles around the world against U.S. domination were articulated by Teresa Gutierrez and Sara Flounders from the IAC; Hector Castro, director of education, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, Colombia; Francisco Rivera, Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques; Marie Hilao Enriquez from BAYAN; and Yoomi Jeong from the Korea Truth Commission.

Muslim speakers included Mahdi Bray, Muslim American Society; Ismael Kamal, Muslim Student Association; Ihab Darwish, Free Palestine Alliance; Ghazi Khan Kan, Council on American Islamic Relations; Imam Mousa, Masjid Al-Islam; and Dr. Mansoon Khan from Peace TV.

The Revs. Herbert Daughtry, national pastor of House of the Lord Church; Graylan Hagler, pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, andJesuit priest John Dear addressed the audience.

DC rights march

The Aug. 23 2003 march on Washington that marked the 40th anniversary of the giant 1963 Civil Rights March led by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was noted for its strong anti-war mood. Thousands of people from across the country streamed onto the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the historic march, which featured Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech.

The night before this year's march, Yolanda King hosted a "spit in" geared toward younger activists. Many people took the stage for five minutes each to "spit" poetry against war, about growing up poor and oppressed, about police brutality and other injustices to illustrate that the "dream" has not been realized by most working people in this country.

Throughout the weekend the speakers who received the loudest ovations were those who demanded an end to the occupation of Iraq.

Among the speakers were three presidential candidates--the Rev. Al Sharpton, Carol Moseley Braun and Howard Dean; historic civil-rights leaders such as James Forman, Coretta Scott King and Jesse Jackson; representatives of the civil-rights/peace-and-justice movement like NOW Executive Director Kim Gandy, National Lesbian and Gay Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman, Damu Smith of Black Voices for Peace, Leslie Cagan of United for Peace and Justice, James Zogby of the Arab American Institute, Raul Yzaguirre of La Raza, and Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Association, who invited everyone to come back for the Oct. 25 march against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. National youth and student leaders and church representatives also spoke.

DC Protest Against "The Surge"

Medea Benjamin, Sean Penn, Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and others lead Jan 29, 2007 march.

Speaking at the People's Summit

From June 14-17 2009, the Moratorium NOW!-initiated People's Summit was held at Grand Circus Park, Detroit, MI. A "tent city" was built at the location, and protesters camped there for four days of "Active Resistance, Political Discussion and Strategizing for a “People's Stimulus Plans” and an “Economic Bill of Rights” for Working People and the Poor." Moratorium NOW! is a Workers World Party-front organization. Speaking at the summit were Jesse Jackson; JoAnn Watson; Abayomi Azikiwe, Workers World Party; Mike Martinez, FIST, Workers World Party; Baldemar Velasquez, FLOC; Ignacio Meneses, U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange; and Rosendo Delgado, Latinos Unidos.

Millions More Movement

The Millions More Movement held an important all-day rally Oct. 15, 2005 on the National Mall that attracted an overwhelmingly African-American crowd numbering more than 1 million, according to organizers. The main demand put forth by the rally organizers and supported by the masses there was “Black power!”

Not one U.S. flag was prominent in the crowd, but the colors of the flag for U.S. Black liberation—red, black and green—could be seen everywhere.

This MMM rally was first announced in 2004 as a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March on Oct. 16, 1995, held at the same site. That event attracted at least 1 million, mainly Black men, and was initiated by the Nation of Islam.

The speeches were focused on a variety of issues: the prison system and the plight of political prisoners—especially Mumia Abu-Jamal, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) and Leonard Peltier-police brutality, reparations, voter disenfranchisement, LGBT oppression, immigrant rights, economic and political empowerment, education and health, the role of art and culture in the struggle for social justice, and much more.

The main presentation at this rally was given by the MMM’s national convener and NOI leader, the Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Among the many other speakers were Clarence Thomas and Chris Silvera from the Million Worker March Movement; Dr. Dorothy Height of the National Council of Negro Women; Indigenous leaders Russell Means and Vernon Bellecourt; Congress woman Sheila Jackson; Haitian singer Wyclef Jean; Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson; Viola Plummer of the Dec. 12 Movement; Damu Smith, Black Voices for Peace; and comedian and social activist Dick Gregory.

In a videotaped message played to the crowd, the president of Cuba’s National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón, expressed the Cuban people’s solidarity with Katrina survivors and all the poor in the U.S. He also spoke about the case of the Cuban 5, who were imprisoned for fighting against terrorism while the U.S. aids and shelters real terrorists like Luis Posada Carriles.

"Black agenda"

Tavis Smiley organized and hosted the forum, held on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at Chicago State University on the city’s South Side. The confab offered up a provocative query: Is there room for a black agenda in the “post-racial America” of Barack Obama?

The televised event drew about 3,000 people, heard Smiley lead a four-hour conversation among 12 black intellectuals, educators and activists. The mix included longtime Smiley compatriots, academics like Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson and Julianne Malveaux. Others were longtime black leaders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., and Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. Most of them came, they said, to “lovingly” take Obama to the woodshed.

CAIR Michigan 2010 Banquet

Nihad Awad, Wendell Anthony, Dawud Walid, John Conyers, Lena Masri, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Ron Scott, Raheem Hanifa, and Jukaku Tayeb

The 2010 Michigan CAIR gala, was held on March 31, with about "1,000 attendees including many powerful audience members from the business, media, and political community". Present at this year’s fundraiser was Nihad Awad, who founded CAIR and set it up as a not-for-profit franchise operation of sorts, with now branch offices across the country to advocate for Muslims.

But the real jewels in the crown of the 2010 CAIR Michigan fundraiser were the civil rights workers who for sixty years have been deeply involved at their own personal peril with the struggle for civil rights in the USA.

Jesse Jackson , the keynote speaker, was one of those. But there was also Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14), whom Jackson described as “perhaps the only man who was ever endorsed by Martin Luther King.” There was Rep. John Dingell (D-MI-15). There were many others, including the strong gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero (currently Lansing’s mayor).

Other attendees included Wendell Anthony, Imam and CAIR Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid, CAIR Michigan Attorney Lena Masri, Ron Scott, Raheem Hanifa, and Jukaku Tayeb of CAIR Michigan.

America's Future Now!

Jesse Jackson was one of the 148 speakers who addressed the 2010 America's Future Now Conference.

FightingBobFest speaker

Jesse Jackson a guest speaker at Wisconsin's annual progressive Fighting Bob Fest, in 2010.

Voting rights press conference

July 13, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC-- Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) made this statement today at the voting rights press conference:

"[In Ohio] We have one of the most draconian voter suppression bills in the United States. If we are going to have a society that involves all of its citizens, we cannot allow for these kinds of bills to be passed by legislature after legislature... Across this country, 11% of all people who are eligible to vote do not have a government issued ID. That's 21 million people. Every time we take one step forward, we take two steps back. And we're not going to allow it to happen. "

Members in attendance:

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Corrine Brown, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez, Rep. Tim Ryan, Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Betty Sutton, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Donna Christensen, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Karen Bass.

Organizations and leaders in attendance:

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Tamika Mallory, National Action Network, Barbara Arnwine, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Laura Murphy, American Civil Liberties Union Hilary Shelton, NAACP, Rafael Collazo, National Council of La Raza/Democracia USA, Nichole Austin-Hillery, Brennan Center for Justice, Campus Progress, Center for American Progress, Diallo Brooks, People for the American Way.

CPC "Good jobs" tour

On June 27, 2011, Detroit was the second stop of the Congressional Progressive Caucus's "Good Jobs" tour. Reps. Hansen Clarke and John Conyers, D-Mich., joined with Keith Ellison, D-Minn., Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson listening to the "stories and thinking of the people".

In their brief remarks, the leaders issued a call to redirect money from wars, Wall Street and the rich to a rebuilding of America.

Jackson said war spending is "breaking our cities." He was seconded by Clarke who said the money we're spending in Afghanistan is ours, "it should come back to us."

Kaptor said we need to tax the financial giants asking, "Why can't we tax hedge funds like we do the corner bakery?"

Ellison emphasized that unity is required to win, saying being angry will not bring jobs but banding together, speaking together, and fighting together can. "We will use our strength in numbers to fight corporate greed," he said.

Conyers said we are "getting ready" to re-elect President Obama but we need the President to get behind job creating legislation like the Humphrey Hawkins jobs bill he has introduced.

"We are going to Washington to tell him we want him to lead in the fight for jobs. We will tell him we are ready to help," said Conyers.

Against NATO Summit

According to an April 2012 press release from Lauren Love, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and Eric Ruder, Coalition Against NATO/G8, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other community and labor leaders will gather on Thursday, April 19, at 11:15 am on the 2nd floor of City Hall to announce their plans to march in opposition to NATO. The march will take place on Sunday, May 20, which is the first day of the NATO summit, and is being organized by the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda (CANG8).

Rev. Jackson will also announce his plans to speak at CANG8’s People’s Summit at Occupy Chicago’s headquarters on May 12–13, the weekend before the NATO summit.

Standing with Rev. Jackson to announce their support for the march and People’s Summit will be Occupy Chicago; the Chicago Teachers Union; the National Nurses United; and members of the Service Employees International Union.

“Our world has become jilted by war and weapons,” said Rev. Jackson. “There is simply too much violence, too much concentrated wealth and too much poverty. I hope on May 20 there will be a large demonstration with global participation. It’s time we go in a different direction. I am urging us to shift our priorities. This demonstration is designed to appeal to the leaders of the world to choose to depend less on military intervention and more on negotiations to try to heal these societies ravished by poverty and internal strife.”

CANG8 organizers are pleased to be joined in their efforts by many other community and labor leaders in addition to Rev. Jackson. “ “This march will take place at a crucial moment in NATO’s war on Afghanistan as a majority of Americans have now turned against further U.S. involvement there,” said Joe Iosbaker, a CANG8 organizer.

“Occupy Chicago is proud to support the May 20 march being organized by the Coalition Against NATO/G8,” said Rachael Perrotta, a member of Occupy Chicago’s press team.

Many nurses from the Chicago area and beyond have been active in the Occupy movement and in challenging budgets that prioritize war spending over public health. “As an ER nurse, I see the suffering of the 99 percent firsthand,” said Dennis Kosuth, a registered nurse at Stroger Cook County Hospital. “The global 1 percent and the G8 are calling for austerity cuts to vital social services while draining trillions of our tax dollars into the NATO war machine. Our tax dollars should be going into our public schools, healthcare services, libraries, public transportation—back to the people of Main Street. Registered Nurses of the National Nurses United will be marching alongside CANG8 this May to protest NATO and to call for a Robin Hood Tax on the G8 global 1 percent.”

Christine Boardman is the president of Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents 25,000 public employees in Illinois and Indiana, and she is urging union members and working people to attend the protest in large numbers. “G8 policies have supported so-called ‘free trade agreements,’ which have caused the loss of millions of jobs,” said Boardman. “Instead of funding for war and supporting ‘free trade’ for corporations, which means ‘slave trade’ for workers, it must become our national priority to keep good jobs here and to fund services for our communities.”

Other noted speakers at the May 20 march and the People’s Summit include Malalai Joya, former Afghan member of Parliament and internationally renowned opponent of NATO’s occupation of Afghanistan; Reiner Braun, International Coordinating Committee of the European No to NATO network; Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence; Malik Mujahid, Muslim Peace Coalition; Medea Benjamin, Code Pink; and Col. Ann Wright (ret.), antiwar activist.

In addition to specifying Jesse Jackson, , speakers will now include, along with those announced earlier: Leah Bolger, head of Veterans for Peace, who was recently tried for “disrupting” the so-called SuperCommittee in Congress; Carlos Montes, who was targeted by an FBI raid in Los Angeles; Kari Fulton, of the Environmental Justice movement; and Larry Holmes, of International Action Center.

Chavez connection

At Chavez's funeral

In the funeral hall, more than 30 political leaders including Cuba's Raul Castro and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood at attention before Chavez's flag-draped coffin. Many of them were welcomed by Nicolas Maduro, the vice president who will later be sworn in as interim president. The glass-topped coffin, which has been open since Wednesday, was shut for the funeral.

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and former Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA) attended the Venezuelan leader's funeral. Hollywood actor Sean Penn and Reverend Jesse Jackson were also at the funeral. "We pray God today that you will heal the breach between the U.S. and Venezuela," Jackson said.

Hiroshima 2014

Butch Wing and Jesse Jackson, Hiroshima April 2014

Butch Wing was in Hiroshima with Jesse Jackson, April 2014.

Ferguson

Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 25 2014— Many thousands of people, the majority of them standing outside the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, gathered here in solidarity today to comfort the family of Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9.

Brown’s mother and father, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., were accompanied by notable public figures, including Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sen. Claire McCaskill and Rep. Maxine Waters. Sharpton delivered the eulogy.

Dream of Equality awardee

Jesse Jackson, Sr. is a past recipient of Asian Americans for Equality's annual Dream of Equality award.

Rainbow/PUSH 2015 convention

Meeting Clinton

October 30, 2015, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Caesar Mitchell, Butch Wing

"An Evening of Storytelling"

The Collective PAC joined the commemoration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination with An Evening of Storytelling.

The evening heard testimonies from Civil Rights icons on their fight for justice and the legacy of Dr. King.

Crosstown Concourse was filled circa April 3, 2018 with a diverse group people listening to some amazing stories of history, courage, inspiration, and the struggle of the people in the Civil Rights Movement.

"Great freedom fighters we have here today,” said moderator Michael Eric Dyson. “Diane Nash, Marian Wright Edelman, Jesse Jackson."

Also on that panel was Memphian Tami Sawyer, who started the movement to take down the Confederate statues.

"When I think about this day and why it's so important and why I am honored to be on this stage is that I've learned so much from Dr. King," Sawyer said.

Memphis attorney Mike Cody was part of Dr. King's team of attorneys. He was in his 30s when he met his pro bono client Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man Cody said was controversial.

"He was against the Vietnam War. I'm assuming he'd be very stringent against Iraq and Afghanistan,” Cody said. “So he would still be a controversial person.”

All attendees listened to hear the stories of how the Civil Rights Movement was done. One tactic was staying calm.

"You had to stay in control of your emotions because the tense situations, somebody was going to attack you or say something that would upset you,” said Bernard LaFayette, co-founder of SNCC. “You realize that's their purpose."

Some of the people said the stories they listened to brought a kind of enlightenment for them concerning the Civil Rights Movement, reinforcing for them just how important the movement was and still is.

Meeting with Kim Jong-hoon

Kim Jong-hoon, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly and co-chair of the progressive Minjung Party, led a delegation to Washington on March 20-21 2018 to appeal to U.S. lawmakers about supporting efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. Congress and Senate should not just watch Trump’s maneuvers from the sidelines but play an active role to make sure the talks succeed in achieving genuine and lasting peace, he wrote in The Hill. The Minjung Party was borne out of the candlelight revolution that unseated former President Park Geun-hye and is composed of workers, farmers and the urban poor.

In a meeting with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Kim urged the senator to take the lead in building support for a successful summit:

No matter the motive for President Trump’s decision to meet with Kim Jong Un, dialogue is better than war. Military tension on the Korean peninsula had reached a feverish pitch last year, and real fear of impending war was shared by all Koreans, whether in the north or south. Leaders in Washington and the American people need to call on Trump to negotiate in good faith.

Senator Sanders expressed support for “peace talks between North Korea and the United States,” and the two lawmakers agreed to work together to facilitate dialogue between lawmakers of South Korea and the United States for a peaceful resolution of the U.S.-North Korea conflict.

Representative Kim also met with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who also expressed support for the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit. “Dialogue is the best path to peace,” she said and discussed the false missile alert that had caused terror among residents of Hawaii earlier this year. The two lawmakers agreed that the people of Korea and Hawaii share a stake in resolving the current crisis peacefully. Congresswoman Gabbard said she will introduce a House resolution in support of the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit.

Representative Kim also met with Congressman Jim McGovern and Congressman Dwight Evans, who both agreed to support the peace process in Korea.

Representative Kim also met with Reverend Jesse Jackson. The two leaders released a joint statement in support of the upcoming peace talks, and Reverend Jackson agreed to travel to South Korea in the near future to meet with members of the National Assembly and civil society organizations to discuss joint efforts for peace.

Representative Kim also met with peace activists in Washington and New York. He thanked them for their solidarity for peace in Korea. For the grandmothers fighting against the U.S. THAAD system in the village of Soseongri, he said, “Let us work together and redouble our efforts to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula.”

External links

• Jesse Jackson on Muckety
• RainbowPUSH Coalition

References

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