The Other Eighties by Bradford Martin

Author:Bradford Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Run, Jesse, Run

In the summer of 1983, when many black Chicagoans were still celebrating Harold Washington’s victory, Chicago’s other famous black leader, Jesse Jackson, headed home to the South. Leading a “Southern Crusade,” he aimed to register thousands of black voters. This mission grew out of a recognition of the region’s pivotal role in President Reagan’s 1980 election. The Gipper had prevailed by a narrow margin in several states within a region where Democrats left the votes of some three million unregistered African Americans on the table. Enhanced black political power could sway the balance of the 1984 presidential race, underscore African Americans’ importance to the Democrats, and move issues that mattered most to black people to greater prominence in the Democratic agenda. This logic inspired Jackson’s swing through the South. In a development that he did little to discourage, the campaign generated a momentum of its own, with Jackson as the focal point. Delivering the message about harnessing the political energy of the voter registration drive, cries of “Run, Jesse, Run” greeted Jackson at rallies across the South.22

Though black leaders had discussed the idea of a black candidate to run for the 1984 Democratic nomination earlier in the year, Jesse Jackson was far from the inevitable choice. His detractors within the black community were numerous. Many established black politicians endorsed the traditional strategy of supporting whichever white Democratic candidate was perceived as most sympathetic to black interests. Some argued that a black candidate would dilute support for the eventual Democratic nominee, thereby enhancing the danger of Reagan’s reelection. Yet a growing consensus among key black leaders emerged that in an increasingly conservative national political landscape, mainstream Democrats might abandon support for the social programs, educational initiatives, and job-training measures that were important to black Americans. Thus the push for a black candidate gained increasing urgency. The premise was that a black candidacy, even if victory was unattainable, would mobilize large numbers of black voters, forcing the Democrats to address African Americans’ concerns rather than taking their votes for granted.

Still, no consensus existed for Jackson as a standard-bearer, and many viewed him as divisive. He encompassed a welter of contradictions within one individual, and his résumé could provoke profoundly different reactions depending on one’s perspective. Competing interpretations of Jackson’s legacy within the civil rights movement abounded. Some viewed him as Martin Luther King’s heir apparent and moral successor; others contended that Jackson opportunistically bathed in the fallen hero’s blood, literally, then courted the cameras to enhance his stature. In Chicago, where Jackson had spent most of his adult life, some praised his ability to build black community through his leadership of Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity), while others detected calculating self-aggrandizement, noting that he frequently upstaged Harold Washington, as though vying to become the city’s preeminent black leader. Supporters argued that Jackson’s preternatural sense for grabbing media headlines represented a uniquely powerful tool among black leaders. For critics, it was obnoxious behavior that caused friction that divided African

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