By Chiderah A. Monde
I consider certain topics and certain public figures unusual for a 19 year old college student to care about or even remotely think about. Jesse Jackson, is one of these people. So is Dick Cheney, and so is Condoleezza Rice. These familiar names may cross our minds once in a while after glancing at a headline or flipping past CNN on TV, but never enough to really care about.
The truth is, I have never been a fan of the new-age Black leaders that have made names for themselves, including leaders of the NAACP, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. If I were alive for Malcolm X, Dr. King or the high points of Nelson Mandela’s reigns, it would be a different case.
From the eyes of a Black college student, these new-age leaders of the Black community are self-proclaimed, and somewhat self-righteous. There seems to be no progress in their rallying of the Black community, because their names come up as the butt of all jokes to us.
How many times have I heard “What, are you gonna call Al Sharpton on me?” or “You better stop before she brings in Jesse Jackson and the NAACP!” with laughs from both Black and white people? Too many times.
A lot of people say that these men make Black people look worse. In most cases I agree, but at the same time I do think there’s nobility in stepping up and at least trying to create a sense of unity, no matter how unsuccessful it has been.
Jesse Jackson has got to be doing tons of damage control right now. And although I have my reserves about him, I will attempt to defend him in a way that supports his motives, without actually supporting his actions (I hope that makes sense).
His comments about Barack Obama recently have made him look like the biggest asshole, for lack of better words, out there. How dare he say such things about our future Mr. President? But in all seriousness, you cannot blame the man for being concerned about Obama’s every move. A man dedicated to the Black community wants to see his people accurately and primarily represented by a Black president, or the same way he does. He must have been outraged by Obama’s Father’s Day address to the black male community. If so, I don’t blame him. Our fearless leader decided to do responsibility checks on Black men, but no other race or ethnicity got the same “advice”.
Jesse Jackson must be in an awkward position. His words against Barack contradict the “work” he has been doing. It must be hard. He has to vote for Barack, I would assume, but Barack isn’t exactly his ideal Black president. I say neither man is at fault for the negative publicity they’ve been getting.
Jackson doesn’t impress me at all. He is not the spokesperson for the Black community, nor do I think he is really seeking to be. He is, however, a man that has stood up for what he believes in for decades, and that’s good enough for me. I care about the fact that a man’s integrity and entire career is being challenged and questioned because of his opinions of a presidential hopeful. However outspoken, incorrect, or extreme he is, it is a shame that Jesse Jackson has to endure being called such a hypocrite for condemning a word he used. Bill Clinton commented about Jackson’s slip on FOX saying, “If all of us lived on live mics, then 100% of us in this room would be embarrassed from time to time.”
People my age choose not to get involved and not to comment, not because we don’t care about the issues, but because overall people are forgetting what is important. We don’t care about these men because the stupid little details about their lives are getting in the way of focusing on the task at hand- getting the white house back in order. Barack, there is no need to make a list of men you disassociate with. John McCain hasn’t made that list, so why do you feel the need to?
It is because image is getting in the way of issues. We’re play Jesse Jackson as the bad guy and Obama as the good guy, when really- both are equally credible, and both are equally in need of criticism.
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