Has it really been 25 years since the Rev. Jesse Jackson made that powerful and profound speech to the Democratic National Convention? Twenty-five years since our nation stood mesmerized, as the first African-American to garner as many votes and have as s
Has it really been 25 years since the Rev. Jesse Jackson made that powerful and profound speech to the Democratic National Convention? Twenty-five years since our nation stood mesmerized, as the first African-American to garner as many votes and have as significant a presence in a major political party’s Presidential race spoke in culmination of his effort and electrified all of us.
In 25 years, our nation’s political landscape has been completely transformed. Jesse Jackson was an African-American candidate who newscasters openly asked inane and disrespectful questions like, “What qualifies you to run?”
President Barack Obama was asked some of those same questions during his campaign. But he prevailed, standing on the shoulders of one who shifted the historical tide.
The Rev. Jackson did more than simply run for President. He emboldened a generation of African-American politicians and would-be politicians to take on the mantle of political leadership.
He emboldened young men and women who were ambivalent about mainstream politics and about their own chances of success with his chant, “I am somebody.”
He took on the African-American establishment at that time – those in the Democratic Party who were connected to and supportive of former Vice President Walter Mondale. That group of esteemed leaders – Ambassador Andrew Young, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, and so many others – had another vision for the presidency, but they came to appreciate the Rev. Jackson’s effort.
His presence in the 1984 campaign galvanized millions of voters who may otherwise have sat at the sidelines in the election.
I was there in 1984, part of the Rainbow Coalition. When I think of those days the memories rush back at me. I ran for Jackson delegate and was an alternate. I was the designated Jackson representative who debated a Mondale and Hart representative every morning on a local radio program.
I was a surrogate speaker for the Rev. Jackson, and at the same time I was running for local public office (I got whupped) and leading an initiative to remove San Francisco pension funds from companies doing business with South Africa (we prevailed).
I have fond memories of the political friends from those days – Butch Wing, Geraldine Johnson, so many others. It is through the Rev. Jackson that I first met the CNN commentator, now friend, Donna Brazile.
My walk down memory lane is not just an opportunity to wallow in nostalgia. My memory tells me that we are so much better off for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s run for President. We, the nation, because the Rev. Jackson led the shift in our historical context.
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