For this historic ETV Classic, host Kay Doran noted that on July 22nd, the United States Supreme Court made public its decision that although states do have powers to regulate economic activity, they do not have the right to prohibit peaceful activity aimed at bringing about political, social, and economic change. This was heralded as a victory by the NAACP and Jesse Jackson’s Chicago based organization PUSH. Peaceful Economic Boycott to Effect Change was given a green light by this decision and at the time of this interview (PUSH) People United To Save Humanity was holding its National Convention in Charleston. Beryl Dakers met with Jesse Jackson, founder and National President Operation Push, Inc. to learn more.
Jesse Jackson noted that in the 17 years since the Voting Rights Act, South Carolina had done little to uphold the Voting Rights Act, with a significant part of the population of the state not registered to vote. Unmonitored registrars and gerrymandering were a concern, as South Carolina had been singled out as being one of the main violators of the 1965 Voter's Rights Act.
Reverend Jackson said that blacks had the money and the minds to move forward and urged that they be educated as co-partners, not just during times of war, but in reciprocal trade on both the national and international level.
In his interview, Reverend Jackson spoke about the need for vibrant, young, new leadership, noting that as the leaders grow older and die, the organizations will remain. He spoke about the importance of global participation in groups such as PUSH, and about the betrayal of silence when not speaking up for the injustices in the world.
Speaking the gospel from his mountain, Reverend Jackson challenges us, if not us, who? If not now, when? If not here, where?
Reverend Jesse Jackson appeared on two other ETV Classics, For The People in 1982 and Carolina Snaps. Click on the links provided to view these programs.
Side Notes
- Jesse Jackson, Charismatic Champion of Civil Rights, Dies at age 84. The New York Times.
- Tributes to the Reverend Jesse Jackson from Leaders and Activists - SC Public Radio.
- NAACP Honors the Life and Legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., A Son of the Movement
- Jesse Jackson's Operation Push Founded in Chicago, Operation PUSH has been one of the most important social justice organizations in the United States since 1971. December 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Chicago-based civil rights organization Operation PUSH. Established by the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., the organization has fought for economic empowerment from its headquarters on the city’s South Side.
- NAACP - We are the home of grassroots activism for civil rights and social justice. We advocate, agitate, and litigate for civil rights due to Black America. In our cities, schools, companies, and courtrooms, we are the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Thurgood Marshall, and many other giants.
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. This “act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution” was signed into law 95 years after the amendment was ratified. In those years, African Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions to deny them the right to vote. They also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote. As a result, African-American voter registration was limited, along with political power.
- Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era on April 15, 1947. He would later become the first African American named a vice president at a fortune 500 company; serve as an advisor to politicians; start a bank and a housing development company; and, was a key figure in advancing equal opportunity and first-class citizenship for all Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. Hailed a “..freedom rider before freedom rides,” Robinson’s name has become synonymous with breaking barriers.
- William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925 - 2008) Biography and Career Timeline. (PBS)
