Rev. Jesse Jackson, the founder of Rainbow PUSH, says major celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Usher are getting involved in major issues of the day. And Jackson expects them to continue to speak out on such things as the spiraling foreclosure rates, unemployment, homelessness and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“First of all Jay-Z, Oprah and Usher … these are very sensitive people. And as they manifest themselves, they speak out: against HIV/AIDS, speaking out for Obama to become president, against apartheid in South Africa. They do speak out. This issue [home foreclosures] will not go away and I think will gain their support but it’s their right to do,” the longtime civil rights leader says. “… We’ve seen the stars play their roles and pay their dues. And I respect them for that and appreciate them very much.
“Now we have an issue on the impact of a sickening economy. We’ve lost eight million jobs [in] the last 18 months. We have 4 ½ million homes in foreclosure, 20 million homes under water [and] $100 billion a year in student loans debt. These are the issues of our time. We must all address them.”
Jackson refused to entertain any question relating to his relationship with President Obama and whether he issued a one-on-one apology for his crude remarks during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“Reconcile … I don’t get the point of your question,” he said tersely, taking a quick detour to steer the conversation back to his organization’s mission. “Our works goes on down the road. We have big issues now. We’re fighting together for our health care bill for all Americans. Fighting together for stimulus plans that work. We’re fighting together to salvage homes and help our children. Our work goes on. We are very supportive of our common efforts.”
Jackson reiterated that the milestone of having the nation’s first African American president does not preclude blacks from offering constructive criticism or offering public objections to issues anyone might disagree with.
“People have a right to agree and disagree. It’s not a question of non-support to agree and disagree on a given issue. It depends on what your interests are,” he says. “Some people may disagree on the tax bill depending on how much money they have. We have reason to agree that we made a great choice electing Barack Obama as president. That’s a big deal. We can agree and disagree, that’s what people do.” –terry shropshire
