| On November 3, 1983, Reverend Jesse Jackson announced his intent to
become a candidate for President of the United States before a group of
2,500 supporters. This date is an extremely important one in American
history. For the first time since 1972 (when Shirley Chisholm launched
a campaign) an African-American planned to accept the challenges of Presidential
candidacy (Facts on File 748). It was completely clear that
Jackson was launching the campaign-of-all-campaigns. What remained
questionable was the intent of Mr. Jackson. He knew there was no
possibility of gaining enough Democratic support to become their party
candidate. Jackson just seized the opportunity to further his own
causes and to elevate black politics to a national level.
Before Jackson officially announced his candidacy, he was aware that he could not receive the Democratic nomination. As Meg Greenfield put it, Jackson knew the Democratic nomination was nothing but a "long shot" (80). In a survey by U.S. News and World Report, seventy percent of blacks polled said they would like to see Jackson run for the Presidency (80). How could they say they would not like to see someone of their race be a candidate? It was, however, presumed unlikely that blacks would support him on the basis of his race alone, and because most people were unwilling to waste time on a losing candidate, he had to prove he could be elected. In the survey, the voters of his race who did support his cause were generally young and less educated, the very group that tends not to vote (80). Not only was Jackson distasteful to a large portion of blacks, but he also did not appeal to the majority of voters, the working class whites. A large part of the opposition was based on the knowledge of Jackson's real intentions, and it was also intensified by his reluctance to face the real issues. Many people argue that Jackson never really faced the "real" issues during his campaign, but maybe he would have if he had actually been confronted. jackson seemed to be patronized by all his contenders. Even the other Democrats, who usually enjoy a good debate, refused to argue with him in public for fear of alienating a large black constituency, or for the simple reason that since he had no chance of winning, he was not worth arguing with (Greenfield 80). In this way, the fact that Jackson is black became a useful tool in his campaign. He knew most politicians would hesitate to challenge him, and he began to capitalize on this. If he wished to dodge an issue, all he had to do was mention "civil rights" and the question was withdrawn. Jackson's campaign was also hampered by ethnic comments he made referring to Jews. He called them "Hymies" and labelled New York "Hymietown." When he was questioned about this incident, jackson denied having made the comment, he lied. As Bill Tatum, editor in chief of Amsterdam News said, "Lying about having said [those remarks] is completely galling---and certainly not the act of a man who would be both President and moral leader." Michael Kramer, author of "Why Jackson Shouldn't Be President," is of the opinion that anyone else with Jackson's record would have been declined candidacy, but since his position had politicians in a "Catch-22" situation, all his mistakes were ignored (24). Jackson may not have gotten the Democratic nomination for President (not that he expected to), but he did manage to become known on a national level, which was one of his real intentions as a Presidential candidate. He also reached some milestones for African-Americans. When he launched his campaign in 1983, jackson stated that he hoped his candidacy encouraged more blacks to run for office nationwide. "This is not about one person running," he said. "It's about 10,000 running." (Facts on File 748). The Reverend Jesse Jackson knew what he was saying with this comment. Since he broke down the initial racial barriers in politics through his campaign, the nation has witnessed the inauguration of the first ever elected black governor, Douglas Wilder, who has now revealed Presidential aspirations of his own. There have also been many other blacks elected to high offices, they are Congressmen and mayors. Jesse Jackson was and still is an "icon" to many blacks (U.S. News and World Report 80). He was courageous during his plight as a Presidential hopeful, and proved that there is support for black politics in the nation. Jackson became a symbol for black progress, he fought a losing battle nobly, and changed the face of American politics forever. WORKS CITED Cheers, Michael. "Jesse Jackson Tells What's Ahead for Blacks in Politics." Jet 5 Dec. 1988: 4- 6. Facts on File Yearbook Vol. XLIII. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1983. Greenfield, Meg. "A New Kind of Racial Out-down; The Question of What Jackson Wants to do as President, Not What He Wants Instead." Newsweek 4 April 1988: 80. "Jesse: Election Exposes Growth of White Voters." Jet 27 Nov. 1989: 18-20. Kramer, Michael. "Why Jackson Shouldn't Be President." U.S. News and World Report 18 April 1988: 24. Shapiro, Walter. "Win, Jesse, Win!" Time 4 April 1988: 21. |