Jesse Jackson Joins Human Barricade during Occupy Wallstreet Protest
A heated confrontation Monday night between Occupy Wall Street protesters and the NYPD was defused through the help of some civil rights star power: Rev. Jesse Jackson.
As described by Animal New York, a “big commotion” broke out minutes before midnight on the south side of Zuccotti Park, as police closed in to remove the green-and-white “medical tent” that functioned as a first-aid station. “Out of nowhere,” they write, Jackson “swooped in and spoke face-to-face with the NYPD.”
I was wondering when Rev. Jesse Jackson would show up @ Occupy Wall Street. I am glad he got
there and showed solidarity. But what I don’t understand is the group including Cornel West who made a spectacle in order to be arrested at the U.S. Supreme Court building. How did camera crews
know to be there? Press releases? What was their purpose? If they wanted to get arrested and get in the news, they succeeded. If it wasn’t more purposeful, then they appear to be ego-maniacal. I am
impressed that the Occupy protestors are a “leaderless” group. Most black leaders have no real concept of that process. Maybe that’s why the stunt @ The Supreme Court; and Jesse “swooping down” for a photo-op. I am glad the First-Aid Tent was SAVED. EXCELSIOR!!!
What I am really excited about is the possibility of a significant coalition of everyday Black folks and these protesters. Overall, it seems that the majority of the Occupy folks are white, except for the few Black celebs who have publicly joined. There has to be a reason for that. It’s possible that while folks of color, especially African Americans 50 and older, certainly recognize this national phenomenon as a civil rights movement, the fact that it is predominantly white is somewhat off-putting. There are clear advantages, of course, to white Americans confronting other white Americans regarding issues of poverty and corporate greed on national television, and in the process revealing what folks of color already know–it’s not a free country, and what it says you have the right to do on paper is not always the reality, nor can the police force be depended upon to defend your right to do it. On the other hand, I think lots of folks of color, are watching from the sidelines thinking at least three things: 1) Now it’s your turn, 2) Where were you all these years when our communities were fed up and hurting?, and 3) It’s about time! So, I welcome the public conversation that will connect these dots between race and class, which I have yet to hear. It is that kind of coalition that is particularly threatening to the Powers That Be. Think of Dr. King when he was just preaching integration. Then think of how things changed for him when he started aligning himself with peace activists who were against the war in Vietnam….
Ciekawy katalog stron. Wpadnij!
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