REV. JESSE JACKSON GUEST PREACHES AT JUDSON MEMORIAL CHURCH

ast Sunday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was the guest preacher at Judson Memorial Church, located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Noted for its social activism, Judson is pastored by long-time civil and human rights activist, Peter Laarman. He and over 100 other religious leaders of numerous faiths, was arrested last December in front of the US Mission to the UN where they protested the impending war on Iraq.

Speaking to over 200 congregants, Jackson gave an overview of the struggle for freedom and equality that people of African Ancestry have had to wage in this country from slavery onward; through Jim Crow and into the civil rights movement. He made it clear that while some things have changed for the better, the battle continues unabated because racial discrimination hasn't gone away; it just mutates into things that look a little different.

For example African Americans now have the legal right to vote, but they still get charged a "skin tax" when they buy a car. This is the dirty little secret recently uncovered by an investigation. Because of the color of the customers’ skin, car dealers charge Blacks more for the same automobile than they do whites. And even though public lynchings are no longer prevalent, people of African descent have not yet been allowed to achieve economic empowerment, or parity with whites in many other areas. One instance is, there are more Black men in prison than there are in college.

Since he was speaking only days before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Jackson also voiced his concern that with every year, the celebration of King's birthday moves further away from what King actually was and stood for during his lifetime. "The current portrayal of him is a betrayal of his legacy," stated Jackson. "Dr. King was not some mountaintop dreamer; his name was synonymous with taking risks, with action, defiance and mass mobilization."

Jackson said, too, that just as King opposed the Vietnam War - including on the grounds that it misappropriated money that should have gone into fighting poverty and all the other social ills that plagued this nation - he was sure that King would have opposed the actions of this administration with all his might.

In his 45-minute sermon and in the question and answer session afterwards, Jackson touched on many important issues. He spoke strongly against the war on Iraq, stating that he believes we must each do all we can to stop it, including by engaging in massive demonstrations against it. When asked, he said that he favors Congressman Charles Rangel's proposal to bring back the draft because if there's to be a war, it should be the shared responsibility for all citizens. "You can't just have the youth of Harlem and other such neighborhoods who joined the military to try to prepare for their futures made to go fight," he said.

Jackson also spoke very highly of Illinois Gov. George Ryan for issuing several pardons and commuting the sentences of all his state's prisoners held on death row. He called Ryan's action "awesome" and said he believes Ryan deserves a Nobel Prize for having done it.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was in New York for his Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual Wall Street Conference, went on to make several other public appearances throughout the city.

Donna Lamb can be reached at dlamb@gis.net.