These two men have both fought/is fighting for a historical place in the White House. Jesse Jackson has battled hard and long but never got close enough. Barack Obama and his supporters are of the view that he has a fighting chance, but like Jackson, are they all disillusioned. Will Americans ever elect a non-white to be President of America?
Let's very briefly look at these two men and what gave them a determination to pursue such a coveted position. A post which has always been filled by men who seem to fit tightly into a pre-ordained granite-made mould.
BACKGROUND AND UPBRINGING
Jesse Jackson was born in South Carolina to a single mother who became pregnant with him when she was only 15 years old. His real father was a talented boxer and a well-known personality in the black community. The only problem was that he was married to another woman when Helen Burns (Jesse's mum) became pregnant by him.
Noah Robinson, Jesse's father did not get involved in his son's life, but when his mother later married when he was a toddler, he was adopted by Charles Jackson who gave him his name.
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and a white American mother, both of whom attended University; his father going on to do a Ph.D. Obama moved to Indonesia as a young boy after his parents divorced and his mother remarried, but he soon returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's middle class family.
SCHOOLING AND FURTHUR EDUCATION
Jesse Jackson attended a black high school, where he was was an extremely bright and talented baseball player. After he graduated college, he studied to become a minister (in 1990 he was awarded an honorary theological doctorate), but gave that up in order to focus on the civil rights movement.
Barack Obama finished high school and went on to college to gain his B.A degree. He subsequently worked steadily with the community as organiser, and as a director of developing communities projects among other things.After a few years, he went back to school to study law and also became a lecturer in the Chicago School of Law.
FAMILY LIFE
Jesse Jackson was married to Jacqueline Brown and had 3 sons and 2 daughters with her. He later had an affair with Karin Stanford by whom he had another daughter.
Barack Obama met his future wife Michelle Robinson when he was attached to a Chicago Law firm. They became engaged and married a year later, they have 2 daughters.
THEIR POLITICS
Jesse Jackson negotiated the release of 22 Americans being held in Cuba by Fidel Castro, this is one of the most memorable events he has championed.
He was immensely popular in Alabama, Georgia and Louisana and was for a short period considered a front runner.
Jackson was considered to be liberal and wanted to create an American Parliament of various minority groups including the working class. He advocated that the rich should be taxed differently from the poor, and that the money gained from them be used to finance social welfare programmes. Disarmament negotiations was also high up on his list of priorities.
Barack Obama has hired high ranking veterans to help him in his bid for presidency. His campaign raised a whopping $58million US dollars during the first half of 2007, this was more than any other candidate had ever raised before, within the same time period.
Obama believes in a free market and wants to lessen the gap between the rich and the poor. High up on his list for repair is the American health system and early childhood education. He claims to have an opposition to "dumb wars"
THE COLOUR CODE
These men have fought hard to become President of the USA. Jackson on one hand was far too black for the white (or black) middle class of America to want him for their President. There were certain questionable aspects of his life which did not fit into the mold of 'The American President.'
Obama on the other hand, is squeaky clean. But there are racists on both sides of the colour coin. For the people who don't care about his colour but like his policies, he has a fighting chance. However, for the white racists he is a "black" not a mixed race man. They have wiped his mother's heritage clean from his blood and could never see him as half white. He has been tainted with the blood of a black father, thus spoilt.
For the racists on the darker side of the coin, Obama is just not black enough. By evidence of mere reason, if he is only half black, then he is also half white.
Jesse Jackson, never had a real chance. The question now is, are there enough people standing in the middle who see Obama's policies before the milk chocolate colour of his skin, and are those policies what America needs at this time?
America does not need a non-white President or a female President per-say. America needs a President who will bring it peace, guide the nation, and make sure that its people's needs are met.
After all, the United Kingdom and America are friends, and it is said, "Birds of a Feather Flock Together." If the next American President feels that it is his/her divine right to invade foreign lands, my British son could be fighting on his/her behalf.
