Say Brother; 1415; From The Outhouse To The White House: Is America Ready for a Black President

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20 years ago we

fight for freedom today we fight for equality then we marched for welfare now we march for our share You You think in your opinion that America is ready for a black president In my Observation opinion, I do not think so because so far there is still not that many black politicians America although is a country of change they usually do not want to Change drastically they're very conservative even though they're technologically advanced What they may want to do is have some black

partition one or two and see how it turns out and then maybe graduate more and Then they'll be ready. I think according to the times. I think we're ready for a black president And we need a change Okay, thank you. It's a better change. I think we need a change if the change would be to have a black man for the better I say yes and Towards Jesse Jackson as a candidate. I would say he is a very good man Good evening, I'm Beth dear and welcome to this most important edition of say brother Tonight our very special guest is the Reverend Jesse Jackson one of eight Democratic presidential hopefuls for 1984 we are here to ask is America ready for a black president One of your most immediate thoughts about Reverend Jesse Jackson may be that he was the man who rescued Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from the

Syrian government in January of this year 1984 the next thought may be that on Christmas Day in 1971 Reverend Jackson launched operation push people united to save humanity Which later changed to serve humanity Another well -known point could be that push came out of Reverend Jackson's experience in running Operation breadbasket the economic arm of SC Elsie the Southern Christian leadership conference for the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. around 1967 this came after Reverend Jackson left the Chicago Theological Seminary one month before graduation in 1965 to assist black demonstrators being beaten by police in Selma, Alabama But what we know first and foremost in your mind when you think about Reverend Jesse Jackson is that in late July of 1983 the draft Jesse committee consisting of a hundred

and twenty -five black ministers Secured one million signatures calling on Jesse Jackson to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and they did this successfully now join me in welcoming the Reverend Jesse Jackson one of the 1984 Democratic presidential candidates to say brother I Jackson in preparing myself for the program tonight. I wanted to Look into your background and get some feeling of where you came from And I came across a quote that I'd like to use at this point You said that at one point in your very active life that blacks must go from freedom to equality from aid to trade and From welfare to our share and I'd like to know is it fair to say

that that pretty much captures the essence of Your quest for this particular nomination at one level. have achieved freedom We must now fight for equality. We have access to public accommodations the right to vote open housing Blacks Hispanics women have the right to move into inner neighborhood in America Problem is we can't pay the house note. We have the right to go to any university Problem is we can't pay the tuition and so you need more than than freedom Beyond freedom you need equality and this struggle now for for blacks and Hispanics and women and Asians and and the pool who've been locked out to have their share of Power their share of positions their share of education and information that that's the relevant point for this moment in history one of the other areas that Concerned me was that many have disparaged your running on the basis that it will draw votes away from White candidates who may be able to do more for us In in the past blacks

have traditionally voted 85 percent of them democratic However, there are many important Kinds of issues that are being raised by you And I wanted to know if you really feel that your candidacy will grab attention away from white candidates As opposed to being able to transfer those issues to the plug to the party platform Regardless of who wins the nomination those who can only see this candidacy in in racial terms looking at it in a much too limited fashion I assume that those whites are running and not running for whites only and I'm not running for blacks only I mean the men the great issues of our day really have a Non -racial character what we do know is that our kind of this is having the impact of Bringing on new voters and for the most part. They're democratic It's having the impact of reviving voters were dropped out and they're mostly democratic It's had the impact at this point of

negating in the real move to the third party So we have expanded the party not divided the party We've revived the the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and the margin of despair the Democrats lost by 1980 Are the fracture of our coalition by which they lost in 1980? This can this candidacy could be the impact it will have the difference in terms of governors and Sentences and even the presidency itself I would think that people must see this candidacy as as a rainbow candidacy and the number of whites who are responding to us based upon their concern about acid rain Other environmental issues a chemical warfare against the American people are they're concerned about some way to put America back to work A lot of the span the country about what's happening to our children and under the Reagan administration as a state of cutback and in aid To mothers with babies a cutback in prenatal care Those trapped on fixed incomes are less able to get education

our heat our health care five million more people in poverty They're not mostly black the three million more children in poverty. They are more than half white And so the great issues of our day demand that we move beyond Just a racial definition of economic crisis. mean when they blew up the Barrett the what the Marines were staying in Lebanon. They didn't pick them out based upon their color They were American soldiers and they blew them away So we're looking at the misery index for poor people are the danger index for all people They tend to transcend the tend to transcend race Do you feel that you will be able to obtain some important concessions at the convention regardless of the number of delegates You have when you go Well, assuming I do not win the nomination I'm convinced that the rainbow will not be ignored the delegates their role is over in July The role of the rainbow really just begins after the convention in July because the rainbow Must be respected and dealt with In order for the Democrats

to win so that the the arousing of the interests of people around this country is going to have an impact of Stopping the Democrats. I'm taking the locked out for granted And the Republicans from writing us off It's gonna have the impact of many more people running for office and the winning not only democratic convention concessions But there'll be congressional concessions, and there'll be senatorial concessions There'll be a lot of concessions at every level that is a growth that's taking place from the bottom up They will have lasting impact of under society taking that point from the bottom up. There are thousands of Previously unregistered black voters that are now registering because of your particular candidacy How are you going to advise them to go if you fail to win the nomination? Well? They should not just focus on my running for the presidency Because we must also get equate in terms of who all runs for sheriff and tax assessor and Legislator and judge

so it's not about them a show horse running for the White House. It's about a workhorse Pulling a wagon so a lot of people run run for everything and bring about new coalition and new combinations To win so there'll be a lot of focus between now and July on the White House, but then There are positions that we should have in the courthouse And then the houses of Legislature and so I think that the the broad base of the breadth of the proposition Is going to keep a lot of people? Tired up effectively and in good solid campaigns Alrighty at this point We're going to take a break and when we return will allow our guests to ask some questions of Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson Watch say brother and in the award -winning series because we care

about people places politics and performance Thursday night at 9 30 For black history month the National Center of Afro -American artists presents next time you see me February 23rd 24th and 25th at 8 p .m. And February 26th at 4 p .m. For more information call 4 4 2 8 8 2 0 All right, we're back with Democratic Presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson and our studio audience who have many questions for him this evening I have a young lady here by the name of Patricia Patricia Brown and if you will speak right into my microphone Your question to Reverend Jackson given black teens constitute the highest Highest unemployment group. What would what do you think is the root to the problem? And what steps would you take to alleviate this

situation? There's several dimensions one dimension is that our youth who are in school? must spend much more time in Academic and skill development than they're spending that even those who have the opportunity to go to school in too many instances Spending the national average of five hours a night watching television therefore choosing entertainment over education And I submit to you that it does not matter Well, the teacher has a PhD or no d if you don't show up a class it does not matter one level is getting our shared education and another level having proper educational investment in children our young people who live in the slums who live in the impoverished areas all be equipped with a skill while in school They should come out as brick mason's and glazes and carpenters other than them coming out going to academic institutions Even those who remain in school are not being prepared to go to college are being prepared to go to the world of work They're in the private industry given the level of Corporate of tax investments that they have received an effect from this government They

have an obligation to retrain this workforce to move toward a high production Economy to put America back to work. That's a way Another way is that the government itself has an obligation to invest either in the trade training of our children Or invest in sending them to college it's going to cost so much less to send them the college Then it will send them to jail. It's just a sound investment Reverend Jackson, I have another question here for you. Would you say your name and then yes My name is Philip Hamilton and Reverend Jackson have a question as a black presidential candidate How do you solve your major obstacle and convincing white America of your legitimacy? It's a slow process. It's a process of teaching and learning as you go Every time there's an interview Every time there's a debate Every time there's a mass meeting you you try to transform Curiosity into real concern. It's a developmental process and every time we have overcome Another bearing in our society. We've gone through this process Many people doubted whether or not Jack O 'Robison could play baseball

and no one Really knew until the test was given Jack O 'Robison passed their test and white America passed the test could we desegregate schools in the South? Lot of tension lot of demagoguery but finally we look back and Blacks passed the test and an America passed the test. What would happen if blacks got the right to vote became mayors of major cities? whites passed the test and and so did blacks and so we keep testing we keep growing we keep trying I am impressed with the Breath of the rainbow for it's not just a black -white matter. They're Asians and They're Hispanics and they're Indians. They're Italians They're gays. They're Baptist. They're Methodist. We must reach out for the locked out And it's a broad base of people that are locked out who must not be given a chance to express themselves Thank you very much, Reverend Jackson. I have another question for you. Would you give us your name and your question? Yes, Reverend Jackson. My name is Eleanor Schumann

Democratic party is made up of a coalition of many minorities women unions, etc Powerful block of voters is the Jewish population What I would like to know is how you address yourself to this group Who view you as pro -pl? What you propose to do as a solution to this territory known as Israel Number one all Jews are not view me as as pro -pl Oh, some of them view me as pro -peace because that's that's what I am My position is and has been for a long time that we should support Israel's right to exist With security within international recognized boundaries. We'll firm that Also, we'll firm a quest for Palestinian justice. They cannot remain permanent nomads. They do have a right to exist They do have a right to a homeland. We also support normalized ties with the Arab world In other words, we must have a comprehensive Middle East policy because there are 22 nations there It's about 110 million people there is the very strategic region for our

nation One way to support Israel such as you raised this as a matter of concern Is to supply Israel with necessary arms and economic aid our nation has done that Another way to do it is to end the armed struggle Against Israel and open up trade routes so Israel can spend more time on economic offense than just on military defense the genius of the camp they were the court with Egypt at one level it was to move remove the nation with the most guns aimed at Israel Away from that posture but beyond that was to open up new trade routes for Israel to grow economically And I would think that the people who understand this must know that Differences and strategy does not necessarily mean differences in commitment Okay, thank you very much Reverend Jackson. I have another question for you. Good evening. I'm Sarita Tucker Reverend Jackson, as you know, the United States has several island affiliates around the world either having commonwealth territory or possession status Among these are the United States Virgin Islands in Puerto Rico in the

Caribbean Many residents of those islands would like to vote for the president of the United States As this is not presently possible. What recommendations do you have for remedying the situation? Well, those those nations based upon the desires of their people either ought to be granted statehood and the right to vote Even our territories ought to be given the right to vote Because they are affected by the policies of this government and since they are they ought to have some to say about What the policies are because if they cannot vote Then they have non non -person status and our democracy requires us to To support one person one vote and in the democracy every vote and every voice must count and be heard Thank you, Reverend Jackson. I have another question for you. Would you give us your name, please? then your question. Thank you mark allen and I had a question about public school education a follow -up That his public education has long been a means for social mobility for both black and white And i'm wondering how you as president might help to restore Restore the public confidence in public school education. Thank you

first of all this present administration Has said some of the negative things about public education. It gives the impression The public education does not work It does work. It does not work as well as we wanted to work, but it does work And we need more investment in public education One to provide more opportunities for our children Laws to provide more incentives for the teachers that teach them But if we believe that children are our most precious minds Then we need our best minds to teach them for the most precious and the best need to operate together every day I would think that when uh When sputnik was shot up in america's uh National ego was was damaged We made an adjustment and we move education from the social program category We call it the education defense act. We saw the development of our children's minds As the first line of national defense Even this night if we're going to To be a strong nation to remain a superpower We must fight with with developed minds and not just guided missiles There must be a much stronger commitment by this nation to educate its children If

one goes to interstate university in this nation massachusetts New york california interstate university for four years On the on the full time academic scholarship Will cost less than 20 000 dollars If one goes to the penitentiary on the full time penitentiary scholarship for four years It will cost between 90 and 140 000 dollars So schools that they're worse the better than jails that they're best We must make a commitment to educate our children and if we do so it will pay off for us handsomely into the future Okay, thank you very much revan jackson. I have one more question for you. Would you give us your name and then your question? I'm marcie de veau revan jackson. My question is you've stated that if nominated You would select a woman candidate for vice president. Can you be more specific and do you have a particular woman in mind? It would be a bit premature to name a woman that is a broad body of women Who are qualified to be president?

Certainly to be vice president And part of our mission doing this phase is to remove any remaining doubts and to move to remove artificial bears That even really make the question, you know, uh, the nation is about 53 female The democratic convention is 50 female 70 of all poor children live in the house headed by a woman Women are responsible that women legislators and women judges including the supreme court If india regarding it can run india if mrs. Goldie mea could guide the israel during the war If mr. Statue can can run britain a woman can run this country You know when we raised the question about someone sex or race We almost contributed to the problem. It's like kind of black wind Well, people got to go through a lot of racial gymnastics As opposed to can one win who chooses to ban the bomb And not burn the people identify the one who bans the bomb If you ask the question can the handicapped person be president most for handicapped You think about a handicapped person going up the airplane steps and and all of that No, we need a strong president

Roosevelt was in a wheelchair Perhaps our strongest president he brought us out of the hole And so sometimes we create the problem when we keep kind of festering in it You ought to vote for me because I make the most sense Yeah Okay, I think we have time For about one more question. Would you give us your name and then your question? My name is uh, milton britain reverend jackson And my question is i'm wondering if you have given any thought To your replacement as the director of operation push When you become the president of the united states I have done two things. I have um Attorney thomas nathan yotard is now the president of operation push on leave And as of january eight to five that would become a permanent job for him And i've already been doing Some scouting about making relocation adjustments from chicago to washington Okay at this time reverend jackson I'd just like

to tell you that we have lauded a minute for you to give our audience just some of your Closing thoughts on your candidacy and all that has gone into it so far The most important feature beyond my running is that we can only win if we do our best Last time around riggan won a state of massachusetts by 2400 votes There were 50 000 blacks unregistered Tonight they are 27 28 million young people between ages 18 and 24 Are eligible to vote 17 million are unregistered There are 3 million unregistered spanish about 8 million blacks And so when we look around the number of people who won't change but who've not even registered Are really the margin of difference and so i would hope that this time around that we would be able to inspire A new generation of voters To in fact assert themselves and if those who have been rejected do vote They'll be heard in the democratic marketplace. I'm just delighted

that 20 years ago Blacks spanish teenagers didn't have the right to vote 20 years later the old minorities In coalition of the new majority we can redirect the course of this nation Our time has come and we really do have the chance to do it Thank you very much. I think we ought to Thank week begins a new segment on say brother called the rainbow connection This is a regular commentary on the state of the city by former state representative mel king of the rainbow coalition Hello, i'm mel king on saturday january 28th 1984 the rainbow coalition held its first official convention Signaling the desires of its members to continue to work together One member describes the coalition as a vision in the works While to another rainbow power stands for hope For the first time people in large numbers began to cross traditional battle lines of race sex sexual

preference language Class age location and ideology and finally for many a chance to register work and vote for what they want I will be joining you here on say brother on a regular basis to continue this vision to what we are calling the rainbow connection I will share with you my thoughts on the city's progress in dealing with the issues raised during the campaign Our focus will include state national and international perspectives Our intent is to provide information and analysis that will lead to understanding accountability and positive change The coalition's principles of unity express a shared vision of boston as a city where such basic needs is employment Child care high quality education adequate health care and decent affordable housing are guaranteed for all Where people can enjoy and shape the development of our natural resources We envision a city in which people are treated with respect Free to move and live where they choose without fear of violence We will

promote empowerment and political participation among those who have been historically underrepresented in our political system The coalition's recent endorsement of jessie jackson is consistent with its commitment to empowerment and recognizes the rainbow vision in his platform Free me who can free me me for the politics of inclusion. I'm mel king with the rainbow connection Say brother welcomes opposing viewpoints from responsible citizens and organizations So please write to say brother care of wgb h tv 125 western avenue 021 34 We've come to learn much about the reverend jesse jackson One of the democratic presidential candidates and found that whether america is ready for a black president or not Here he comes. Thank you reverend jackson and you for joining us for the entire say brother staff I'm best year. Good night

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