"My clothes are different, my face is different, my hair is different, but I am somebody. I am black, brown, white. I speak a different language. But I must be respected, protected, never rejected. I am God’s child. I am somebody.” —Jesse Jackson
Few figures loom as large as Reverend Jesse Jackson in the history of American civil rights. From marching in the 1960s with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to forming the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, to his historic presidential campaigns, Jesse Jackson spent his life at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and NAACP Spingarn Medal, Jackson is undoubtedly one of the most consequential figures in the nation's history.
Collected here are rare and previously uncollected interviews with magazines, newspapers, and television broadcasts. In them, Jackson talks of his work with Dr. King, and the tragic night when he was killed. He addresses the economic deregulation of the 1970s, how it translated to tax cuts for the wealthy but few benefits for the poor and underrepresented. He tells of his own presidential campaigns and, with the political rise of Barack Obama, anticipates the election of the country's first Black president. From these brief glimpses emerges a picture of a man of moral purpose, who taught us that the only justification to look down on someone is to stop and pick them up.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction by Al Sharpton
“I Was with Dr. King When the Assassin’s Bullet Was Fired”
Interview by Arthur Kretchmer
Playboy
November 1969
To Be Ethnic, Ethical, and Excellent
Interview by Tony Brown and Diahann Carroll
Black Journal
January 17, 1975
“Jackson’s Plan Stresses Negotiations, Not Arms”
Interview by Ronald Smothers
The New York Times
December 28, 1983
Galvanizing the Disaffected
Interview by Henry Hampton
Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985
April 11, 1989
“You Plant Seeds That May Bring Forth Trees Under Whose Shade You May Never Sit”
Interview by LaDoris Cordell
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California
November 29, 2018
“Trump Wants to Pull Us Back Into White Supremacy”
Interview by David Masciotra
The New Republic
August 1, 2023
