Rev. Jackson’s firsthand accounts of heroes and heroines we have allowed to fade into obscurity as we no longer appreciate or recognize them for the battles they fought, the conflicts they faced and the paths they paved. We claim our victories, but we relegate our losses as inherited from our forefathers while we repeat sound bites about their imperfections and point the finger at them for less than stellar lives.
Have you forgotten who ran for the presidency before we got the current occupant of the White House, Barack Obama? Rev. Jackson, Shirley Chisolm and the Rev. Al Sharpton established the precedent for the African American president. We hadn’t seen a real contender for the office until Jackson, and who will ever forget his historic and impassioned address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and this poignant directive, “… leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving.” So before you hasten to criticize these men and women with the courage to take up the charge on behalf of African Americans, revisit that speech.
Rev. Jackson and the stories that have been told point to the fact that he is imperfect, bold beyond any doubt and he challenges us to be bigger than we are. The fact that he still has a rather large star in the universe of politicians and those who will still listen to what he has to say speaks volumes about his status today. We’re just two years into the Obama administration and already dismiss him too in our frustration. Maybe a page from Jackson’s book might offer some solace in the storm. He’s made his peace with the things he’s done wrong and who of us can sing of our life in a perfect song?
And then there were those in the Republican party who sit back and watch as we naively and thoughtlessly push their agendas ahead, and still we don’t get it. We choose to treat our own leaders with impudence once we discover they are human, and ergo, fallible. What does Congressman Charles Rangel have to look forward to from his own people that he’s represented valiantly for some 40 years?
What is that we hold against the right Reverend, the fact that he has rhymed for so long — his speeches may have been precursors of the genre known as rap. He was the one who chanted “keep hope alive.” He was the one arrested in 1999 when he attempted to have six students reinstated at Eisenhower High School in Decatur, Ill., after they were expelled. He was the one arrested in 2007 at a demonstration outside of a south suburban gun shop and charged with one count of criminal trespass to property, following the death of a 16-year-old honor student who was gunned down on a city bus. We’d deny Dr. King if we could.
So we listen to Chuck D and talk about fighting the power each day. We talk about those in hip-hop and a recording vehicle to address societal inadequacies. Times haven’t changed so don’t be confused by the fact that they put us in Time magazine.
Rev. Jackson still pushes for us to get a fair share of corporate dollars. He wants blacks on executive boards and he doesn’t ask meekly. He calls them out for their lack of diversity in hiring and contracting. And he still takes the podium and the pulpit to right the wrongs. And finally he challenges us to shore up our positions and defend ourselves from certain plights.
Do you remember when you were a kid and you learned to recognize his voice from the cadence and the rhyme? And in the moment you were proud hold him up as an example and recite from his speeches and public addresses.
Why can’t we recognize and admit that we suffer from self-hatred and hypocrisy? I’m not sure of when or how it will come to an end, but when that day arrives and Jesse Jackson is no longer alive, we will miss him. We will talk of how it used to be.
Find a way now to appreciate, forgive and let “Jesse” be. No, we shouldn’t be so judgmental. We should take a closer look and hold to the words from him that we want to honor and replicate. That’s what life is all about — we all have a bigger stake.
If you have ever protested or contacted a corporation to let them know of your concerns, then you do a great service and “keep hope alive.”
We want him to fight, Jesse, fight — no matter what they say. Continue to move forward and learn from the mistakes you’ve made along the way — just as we are allowed to do each and every day.
Just measure the good and what it is that has endeared him to us. Don’t engage in the gossip, our whole community pays the price and still aches. The poor, the unjustly imprisoned, the disadvantaged and the unemployed, still need Rev. Jackson and his special brand of help, even if you, yourself, have arrived. Save a place in your heart to embrace what Jackson has done. Which is run for president, and get the vote out time and time again. Then let’s all forgive any past indiscretions for the sake of fortifying and presenting a united front. Our attitudes about the past will reflect on the success of the man who is president now.
Peace.
Munson Steed
