Jackson Warns of Black Complacency

Rev. Jesse Jackson’s remarks at the Awards Dinner & Concert resonated far beyond the 900 guests who attended the elegant social event on the last night of the convention.

Rev. Jackson said that while CBTU delegates and guests were entitled to celebrate the achievements of black trade unionists, they should not forget: “We are under siege.” He cited the aggressive anti-worker policies and actions of the Bush administration.

“The Bush administration fights for an inclusive democracy in Iraq, but it has not even met with civil rights or labor leaders in this country in two years,” Jackson said.

He said there was another problem that bothered him far more than a Republican administration shunning black leadership. “My fear is that we – black folks – have adjusted to the contempt others demonstrate toward us.” Jackson said the arrogant attempt by some labor leaders to exclude CBTU from leading voter turnout campaigns in the black community and the brazen but failed attempt to purge 10 black staff at the Democratic National Committee shows “liberals and conservatives are two sides of the same coin, fundamentally.”

Jackson’s point was driven home later when DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe told members of the Congressional Black Caucus that even though black voters support Democrats over Republicans by a nearly 9-1 margin and are being counted on to restore Democrats to power, the committee had only one contract with an African American consultant for the 2004 elections.