Outspoken activist Rev. Jesse Jackson responded to footage of him making controversial off-air comments about Sen. Barack Obama for the first time in an interview with Essence.com.
On Remarks About Obama: “It should not have happened. What was private talk became public controversy, and I am embarrassed by that. There is no virtue in that kind of talk, and it should always be discouraged. My appeal even then was that responsibility is a significant message, but our needs require real government intervention and private sector incentives to address the issues of unemployment, building affordable housing and making education more affordable, which really was my point. It was a very painful period for me to have gone through that.”
On Son Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Response: ” … He’s free to express himself, and it does not bother our relationship as father and son at all. He was taught to give his opinion in our household, and he did it in love. He’s tough, he’s smart. He has a future in politics. He didn’t want the impression to be that that my faux pas was his faux pas, because it was not. I respect his right to express himself.”
On Reaching the Younger Generation: “This “old guard, new guard” is an unhealthy division. Politics must be inter-generational. You need Barack on the one hand to talk, you need Charlie Rangel, chair of the House Ways and Means [Committee], and John Conyers, chair of our House Judiciary [Committee]. In politics you grow by adding and multiplying, not by subtracting and dividing. So “old guard vs. new guard” is not a healthy combination. The reality is that we achieved the right to vote, we achieved freedom, but we didn’t achieve equality, and that is the remaining civil rights work.”
On Obama’s Campaign: “I think we have an outstanding candidate. We have the burden now to fully register and vote. There are still maybe 6 to 8 million Blacks unregistered who should not miss this hour, this opportunity. Now that we have a who, let’s focus on the what.” …
Essence magaizne is lifestyle magazine targeted at African-American women, with a readership of 8.5 million.
