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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1984)
P R O F I Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition by C ynthia Cumfer There is a different kind of presidential candidate running a different campaign this year. In years past it has often been hard to distinguish between the candidates for presi dent Frequently, the various candidates would attempt to project an image, some times offer a program and make a stab at getting elected. Someone would get elected and four years later, we would do it all over again. This year, Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition (not a musical gorup!) offer some thing different Reverend Jackson has put together a movement of what he calls “the dispossessed,” the old minorities (and in the case of women, the dispossessed majority) that can become a new majority. Reverend Jackson is appealing to a variety of different groups, including blacks, hispanics, Native Americans, Jews, gays and lesbians, the el derly, peace activists, and the poor to unite and build a movement that represents the interests of those of us who are not in power. This concept of unity Reverend Jackson is calling the Rainbow Coalition. One of the prim ary purposes o f the Rainbow Coalition and the Jackson campaign is to register vot ers who are unregistered and to see that the Voting Rights Act is fairly enforced. Another is to encourage politicians interested in the Rainbow Coalition concept to run for local offices. What is exciting about Reverend Jackson’s campaign is that many of the groups he is trying to reach have finally, for the first tim e possibly ever, begun uniting, making contact with each other, and learning about each other. Jesse Jackson was bom in Greenville, South Carolna, in 1941. While at the Agricul tural and Technical College of North Carolina in Greensboro, Jackson became involved in the civil rights movement By 1963, he was leading daily student sit-ins and protest marches which eventually brought about de segregation of Greensboro’s theatres and re staurants. In 1964, Jackson graduated and worked briefly for the governor of North Carolina, organizing Young Democrat Clubs. In 1965, he entered Chicago Theological Seminary and was ordained a Baptist m inis ter in 1968. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Jackson and the Chicago-based Council of Com m unity Organizations to help in a na tional drive to organize black communities to boycott discriminatory businesses. Jackson was named head of the Chicago branch of Operation Breadbasket which successfully won its fight with nine Chicago area com panies in its first five months of operation. In 1967, Jackson was named National Director o f Operation Breadbasket Jackson also as sisted in organizing the SCLC-sponsored Poor Peoples’ Campaign to dramatize the plight of the poor in Washington, D.C. In 1971, Reverend Jackson organized PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) and served as its national president until Oc tober 1983, when he decided to seek the presidential nomination. Reverend Jackson’s position on the im portant issues in the 1984 campaign is consistent with his life-long com m itm ent to justice. This is a summary of some of his positions: 1. Defense (or Life): Reverend Jackson sup ports a mutual and verifiable nuclear freeze. He opposes the resumption of nerve gas production, the MX missile, the B -l bomber, the neturon bomb, and de ployment of the Pershing and Cruise mis siles in Western Europe. 2. Civil Rights: Reverend Jackson believes that the Voting Rights Act needs to be L E enforced and the dual system of registra tion (in Mississippi) as well as other forms of political oppression imposed on blacks and Hispanics be abolished. He supports the Equal Rights Am endm ent Reverend Jackson advocates, in the area of im m i gration, one standard for admitting people to our country, regardless of their color. 3. Full Employemnt: Reverend Jackson be lieves that one of the most pressing domestic issues is to provide employment for all. He is opposed to President Reagan’s theory that if we support the rig h t the rest of the country will also prosper. 4 . Women’s Issues: In addition to support ing the Equal Rights Amendment, Reverend Jackson believes that a woman should make her own choice about abor tion. He opposes the Hyatt Amendment, which denies welfare funding for poor wo men needing abortions. 5. Middle East: Reverend Jackson believes that Israel must be allowed to exist within secure and internationally recognized borders. The Palestinians must have the right to self-determination or a homeland. Lebanon should not be partitioned. 6. Gay and Lesbian Rights: Reverend Jack- son supports H.R. 2624, the bill which would add sexual orientation to the list of prohibited discriminations under the 1964 Civil Rights A ct He prefers this to the Senate counterpart (S. 430) because he believes the House bill is more compre hensive than the Senate bill. Reverend Jacksbn has promised to extend the man date of agencies dealing with Civil Rights to include cases of anti-gay and lesbian bias, and to classify anti-gay and lesbian violence as a civil rights violation. He has promised to issue, within three months of taking office, an executive order banning discrim ination based on sexual orienta tion in all areas of federal contractors and, the military, the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the FBI. Reverend Jackson is also com m itting to completely overhaul ing the nation’s im migration laws to elim i nate anti-lesbian and gay bias. He is in terested in promoting greater cooperation between federal, state and local agencies dealing with the AIDS crisis, and in obtain ing more funding for lesbian and gay health clinics and counseling centers. He has already established a lesbian/gay is sues desk in his national campaign office. An issue of concern to many of us is the Rainbow Coalition, as well as those not in the coalition, has been Reverend Jackson’s much publicized remarks about Jews. Reverend Jackson has apologized for his comments, has stated that he was wrong, and has indicated his hope that the attention drawn to the issue of anti-semitism can be a starting point for a dialogue between blacks and Jews on issues of concern to both. On the local level, Portland’s Jackson for President group has been recognized by the national headquarters as the official Jackson com m ittee in Oregon. The Portland com m it tee is itself a Rainbow group with a Steering Committee co-chaired by Alma Hill and Ron Herndon. There are more women than men on the steering committee, which is approxi mately Yi black and Vi white. The steering com m ittee includes Jews and lesbians. Since it began, the steering committee has dealt with issues concerning racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism within the Portland organization. Some members of the local steering com m ittee are working on arrang ing a meeting between progressive Jews and blacks to discuss the concerns of both groups. One goal of the Oregon campaign is to register voters. In order to vote for Jesse Jackson in the Oregon primary, which will be held May 15, you must be a registered Demo cra t The local committee is also working on getting delegates to the national convention. Oregon has 50 delegates. In order to get one delegate from District 3 (Ron Wyden’s dis trict, which encompasses most of the east side of Portland), 14% of the voters must vote for Jesse Jackson. The local committee is also working on trying to arrange an appear ance by Reverend Jackson in Oregon. Upcoming events for the local Jackson campaign include breakfast and a gospel m usic evening set in the beginning of May. The more volunteers and support the Rain bow Coalition has, the further it will go. For more inform ation on the Jesse Jackson campaign, come by the campaign head quarters at 3606 N. Williams. One of the major differences between the Jackson campaign and that of other presi dential campaigns is that Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition has the potential to live on and con tinue its work after this election. Although its prim ary focus is now on the Jackson cam paign, after the campaign is over, the Rainbow Coalition will be deciding where to go from here. You can be a part of that C ynthia Cumfer is a Portland attorney. She has recently been conducting ivorkshops on racism. ____________ALICE D. ELLIS____________ ATTORNEY AT LAW PA R K IN SO N , FONTANA, SCH UM AN N , JO N ES, ELLIS and STEENSO N 415 N.W. 18th, PORTLAND, • 221-1792 NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION GENERAL PRACTICE, INCLUDING: INJURY ACCIDENTS • REAL ESTATE DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE CRIMINAL DEFENSE • POLICE ABUSE WE FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS MEMBERS — NATIONAL LAWYER9GUILD Just Out, March 30-April 13 5