Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and has continued his own struggle for social and economic equality since, spoke Tuesday at U. Nebraska-Lincoln. Afterward, Jackson briefly visited the Occupy Lincoln camp, the local off-shoot of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.
In front of a crowd of hundreds of students, faculty and Lincoln residents, Jackson touched on topics as diverse as history, economics, religion and current events. Jackson spoke deliberately and quietly at some times, crescendoing to rapid, strong speech at others. He never strayed, however, from his beliefs that the struggle for equality isn’t over, and Americans must learn to survive together.
“Americans learned a bad lesson well,” he said. They learned to live in a world of “paper-thin walls,” artificial gaps between groups of people divided by race or money. “We learned to survive apart.”
Even after the abolition of slavery, Jackson said, inequality has left its mark on American history. A military force segregated by race fought World War II. Jesse Owens, the black track athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, famously embarrassed Adolf Hitler, who refused to shake his hand. But Franklin D. Roosevelt didn’t shake Owens’ hand, either, Jackson said.
There have still been victories along the way, Jackson told his audience. Public schools were desegregated by law in 1954.
Activists gradually expanded the right and ability to vote to blacks in the racist South, then those 18 or older.
“They fought the battle of their day, and they won that battle,” Jackson said.
“Young America came alive,” he said, he repeated the line throughout his presentation. “We democratized democracy.”
Today, however, has its own struggle, Jackson said. He asked anyone in the audience who knew someone in jail or foreclosure to stand; a scattered but significant group rose.
Jackson then asked who was dealing with student debt or credit card debt; the crowd laughed as most stood, only to be quieted when Jackson asked who knew someone who’d considered suicide. Many remained standing.
“There are a lot of Americans who are living lavishly on the deck of the ship,” Jackson said. Others find themselves down on the hull, “and water’s coming in,” Jackson said.
He was referring to the nation’s income inequality, which is at historic levels following the 2008 recession. The top 1 percent of earners, for example, earn one-fifth of the nation’s income each year. They also control about one-third of the wealth, compared to one-sixth for the bottom 80 percent of Americans, according to an analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute, which analyzed data from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
“Too few have too much,” Jackson said. He joked that the economy now is like a football game where some players have an easier first down because they’ve inherited yards, to laughs from the audience. “Something has gone terribly wrong,” he said.
He compared the economy to the human body. In the body, he said, if too much blood is concentrated in one spot, it’s called a clot or a stroke. “It only makes sense if it’s flowing,” he said.
Because of that economic situation, Jackson repeatedly voiced his support for the Occupy Wall Street protests to murmurs of agreement and claps from some in the crowd. The movement began in Manhattan more than two months ago when an eclectic group of protesters converged on the financial district and camped out in a public park in protest of income inequality and the power they say corporations wield over politics. Hundreds joined the original encampment, and similar camps popped up in towns across the country and around the world, including here in Lincoln.
“Occupy is really a new name for an old game,” Jackson said. “It’s a struggle for social justice. It’s a struggle for fairness.”
In the past few weeks, however, Occupy encampments in several major cities have worn out their welcome. Police have cleared camps in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Video of an officer pepper-spraying seated protesters at the University of California, Davis last week rapidly spread through the Internet, leading some to call for the university chancellor’s resignation.
Still, Jackson didn’t doubt the movement’s durability.
“Occupy can’t be pepper-sprayed away,” he said. “It can’t be arrested. Occupy is a spirit.”
Occupy Wall Street has been criticized for what some say is a lack of a digestible, achievable goal, but Jackson said the movement simply needed to remain disciplined, nonviolent and focused. Even when Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on a bus, he said, people asked, ‘Why’s she doing that?’
After his talk, Jackson walked over to the Occupy Lincoln camp, as he has done in several cities, to offer his support and advice.
“There’ll be attempts to marginalize and discourage (you),” he told several members of the camp, including UNL students, who gathered around him. “Your point of view matters, but it’s a long struggle.”
Occupy Lincoln was listening.
“He was giving advice to anyone who’s affected by any of these issues,” said Dana Garrison, a UNL junior in agriculture education and one of the camp’s organizers. In line with his words, she said developing a relevant, accessible message will be the camp’s next main step.
Others were simply happy to meet the civil rights figure.
“To get a hug and a handshake from the reverend has to be the most thrilling moment of my life,” said a smiling Mary Ann Shiech, who has also been with the Lincoln protest since its first day in mid-October. A short pause. “Besides having my children.”