10:45 p.m., June 6, 2020
At 78, the former Democratic presidential candidate of 1984 and 1988, Jesse Jackson, fights Parkinson’s disease which weakens him and reduces his activities. This did not prevent him from going to Minneapolis to be with the family of the victim killed by the police, nor will it prevent him from attending on Monday the tribute ceremony which will be paid to him in Houston ( Texas). From Chicago, the headquarters of his anti-discrimination organization Rainbow-Push Coalition, Jesse Jackson answered questions from the JDD.
After this week of violence and demonstrations across the United States, do you think the death of George Floyd will have been a turning point in American political life?
Yes, there will have been a before and an after. All these demonstrations constitute immense progress because millions of people wanted to express their revolt against the impunity that the police all too often enjoy in this country. If no one had reacted, these four Minneapolis police officers would never have been arrested and then charged with murder and aiding and abetting murder. In this nation’s pandemic of racism, police officers have for too long been vaccinated against accountability when they commit racist crimes.
Does that mean you trust the federal police, the FBI, to further discipline the police at the local level?
First of all, I trust the population and the relatives of the victims to file a complaint in court when these hate crimes are committed. In principle, this should suffice. But if not, the law needs to be better adapted so that the police do not escape their responsibilities.
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I believe that Donald Trump wanted to instrumentalize God and religion
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As it turns out, a law to make lynching a federal crime is being discussed in Congress. What do you expect from it?
I myself recommended this text two years ago to the parliamentary groups of elected Black Congressmen. The House passed it but, in the Senate, Republican Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, wants to force amendments. As long as this law is not on President Trump’s desk to be enacted, there will be more George Floyd, because I consider what happened to him in Minneapolis to be lynching.
How can we be sure that protests across the country will be able to continue while remaining peaceful?
We must all turn the page on the violence that followed the bestial murder of George Floyd. But it must be recognized that they probably led its perpetrators to be indicted, which had never happened for the death of a black man, victim of the police in Minnesota.
You who are the pastor, how did you react when you saw Donald Trump brandishing a Bible in front of Saint John’s Church next to the White House and which had been vandalized?
I think he wanted to instrumentalize God and religion. But he should know that the Bible is a holy book, and he better read it. The Bible teaches us love of neighbor but also contrition and the duty to do penance when we offend others. We are a nation of neighbors, we form communities. Everyone must assume their responsibilities and the victims must benefit from legal aid.
The organization Black Lives Matter mobilized its supporters under the slogan “We will not vote before …”. Before laws are passed or action taken?
We will not vote before November 3, the date of the presidential election [rires]. But we will vote on that day to make a difference. All the big changes in this country have been achieved by voting. The election of black mayors is one example, and I’m not talking about a black president, of course. But there cannot be any preconditions. You have to vote anyway. It’s when we don’t vote that we let others decide for us. Participation is crucial, as we saw in 2016 when abstention favored the vote for Trump.
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It is not so much the crimes that revolt us as the injustice that accompanies them
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You were crying with joy when Barack Obama was elected in 2008. And yet racist crimes have never ceased under his presidency …
Between the end of the civil war and the passage of civil rights laws in the 1960s, thousands of blacks were lynched. It is not only laws that can change the course of things. They must already be applied. And also to change mentalities. I am glad to see that so many young white people feel humiliated by racist crimes. I hope that the teachings of Martin Luther King will be remembered in the memory of the jurors who have to try such crimes today and tomorrow in the courts. It is not so much the crimes that revolt us as the injustice that accompanies them.
Will the inequalities between blacks and whites be at the heart of the presidential campaign?
The gap between the rich and the poor widened during the pandemic. When it is brought under control, we will find that black unemployment will have increased considerably. This will make the debate on universal health insurance a crucial issue since there is no access to an unemployed mutual.
Donald Trump compared himself to Abraham Lincoln by boasting of being one of the rare presidents to have contributed to the economic emancipation of blacks …
He is not telling the truth. Lincoln is a hero who ended slavery and reconciled the nation. Trump has only increased the inequalities between our two communities.
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We will pressure Joe Biden not to forget his promises and the support given to him by the black electorate
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You supported Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primaries and now you sponsor Joe Biden’s candidacy. What impact can this campaign have in the fight against racism?
We will pressure Joe Biden not to forget his promises and the support given to him by the black electorate. There have never been so many black Democratic candidates for Congress as well. All together, we are capable of building a successful coalition.
What about Barack Obama? Should he get more involved when he is already very present?
His message and his support are very important. But he must not overshadow Joe Biden. I expect him to mobilize the youth. Women, young people and minorities form a majority in this country. On condition of going to the polls.
Are you sure that the presidential election will take place on November 3?
Donald Trump can try to maneuver to delay it, but he cannot go against the Constitution, and that is exactly what the senior military hierarchy has just reminded him of. g
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