Greene County Democrat

Tag: Rainbow Push Coalition

  • Newswire : AFL-CIO remembers legendary Civil Rights Leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson

    Newswire : AFL-CIO remembers legendary Civil Rights Leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson

    Rev. Jesse Jackson at march for jobs and justice

    by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond 

    America’s unions mourn the passing of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering moral force whose lifelong commitment to justice reshaped both the labor and civil rights movements and left a lasting mark on the nation.
    Jackson was a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference before being appointed national director of Operation Breadbasket by his mentor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this role, Jackson led boycotts and campaigns that secured thousands of new jobs for Black workers.
    His two presidential campaigns would break barriers and expand the political imagination of our country. Through Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition—later united as Rainbow PUSH Coalition—he brought communities together with a simple, powerful truth: economic justice and civil rights are inseparable.
    Throughout his life, Rev. Jackson fought tirelessly for workers, both at home and around the world. He upheld the labor movement’s highest ideals—walking picket lines, supporting workers at the bargaining table, and insisting that women and people of color be fully included in union protections. He stood with the AFL-CIO at major mobilizations and worker rallies, from the coalfields to campaigns for janitors and public-sector workers. In 2002, he joined the AFL-CIO and local unions in organizing laid-off Enron workers to secure fair severance pay. On the international stage, he  to defend the dignity and rights of workers across supply chains. He confronted global corporations at every turn, he reminded us that the fight for good jobs, living wages, and union rights is inseparable from the fight for justice and equality.
    As we honor the Rev. Jackson’s memory, we reaffirm his belief that “the American worker is not asking for welfare, he’s asking for a fair share—not for charity but for parity.”
    Our hearts are with the Jackson family, his loved ones and all those who are mourning this immeasurable loss. May he rest in power

  • Newswire: Jesse Jackson to lead emergency summit in Chicago to address escalating Gaza humanitarian crisis

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Religious leaders and human rights advocates, led by Reverend Jesse Jackson, are preparing for what they call a vital emergency summit for Gaza. The “Call to Action” summit is scheduled at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Headquarters in Chicago on Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13. Jackson told the Black Press the summit would “address the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, denounce violence against civilians, and urge immediate action to bring an end to the crisis.”

    Organized by a coalition including the Rainbow Push Coalition, the Arab American Institute, and Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen, the summit will feature a diverse lineup of influential speakers, including Jackson, Dr. James Zogby (President of the Arab American Institute), columnist and political commentator Peter Beinart, Congressman Johnathon Jackson, Congressman Chuy Garcia, and others.

    The central focus of the summit is to condemn attacks on civilians and call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. “We are faith leaders and advocates, united in this moment of moral reckoning to affirm the sanctity of all human life,” Jackson declared.

    The organizers have unequivocally “condemned the Israeli government’s military siege and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza.” They said there’s a moral obligation to leverage collective power to end the escalation of death and ongoing humanitarian crises.

    The coalition demands an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the rapid release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners held without charges or due process, and they are calling on U.S. leadership to facilitate unimpeded UN-supervised humanitarian aid in Gaza.

    “I recommend that they let everyone out,” Jackson asserted. “The captives should be able to go home under the supervision of the United Nations, and anyone [bought to trial] should be done so in the World Court.” 

    Jackson and the rest of the coalition have also urged America to abide by its regulations and condition funding to Israel on its adherence to U.S. law, like requirements for other nations receiving U.S. military financing.

    The organizers collectively stressed that a ceasefire is just the beginning. The staggering civilian casualties underscore the belief that there is no military resolution that can bring justice for Palestinians and security for Israelis, Jackson insisted. He said there should be a diplomatic solution to “end apartheid and occupation.”

    Further, Jackson said the summit aims to build upon historical legacies and current global movements for peace, justice, and liberation. The civil rights legend and other organizers expressed concern about rising anti-Semitic and anti-Arab incidents.

    They have emphasized the need for unity. “We gather to build upon the historical legacy and current global movements for peace, justice, and liberation,” Jackson emphasized, before adding what he said in Lebanon some 40-plus years earlier. “We do not seek to exchange sufferers, but rather to stop suffering.”

  • Newswire: Jesse Jackson ‘doing well’ after falling and cutting his head at Howard University, daughter says

    Rev. Jesse Jackson

     

    Jackson has been on the HBCU’s campus supporting students protesting for better living conditions.

    By Bruce C.T. Wright, Newsone

    Rev. Jesse Jackson is recovering after taking a spill and cutting his head while meeting with student protesters at Howard University on Monday, according to his daughter. The civil rights icon has been offering guidance and support to students at the famed HBCU while they demand an improvement to their living conditions on the campus in Washington, D.C.
    Students are in their third week of protests over issues like mold found in dormitories and certain administrative policies.
    Jackson, 80, was returning from meeting with Howard University administration officials to meet with students and let them know how the conversation went when he fell and hit his head on the pavement, suffering what was described as a “cut,” according to the Grio, which first reported the accident. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment and further observation. But according to his daughter, Jackson is healing up nicely.
    “Family, he’s resting comfortably & doing well: we thank u 4 ur prayers!” Sanita Jackson tweeted. “Fighting 4 u is what he’ll always do.”
    In an apparent reference to the Grio reporting that Jackson “secured a verbal agreement from Howard University’s administration to allow students to end their protest without facing expulsion,” Sanita Jackson added: “His goal is 2 ensure the well-being of@HowardU students: #MissionAccomplished.”
    Jackson also reportedly got Howard to guarantee that it would check all dorm rooms suspected of having mold, which can cause serious health problems.
    The Rainbow Push Coalition, a nonprofit political and social justice organization founded and led by Jackson, offered a similarly positive outlook for the reverend.
    “When Rev. Jackson entered a building on campus, he fell and hit his head. His staff took him to the Howard University Hospital where various tests were run including a CT scan,” Rainbow Push Coalition told CNN in a statement. “The results came back normal. However, hospital officials decided to keep Rev. Jackson overnight for observation.”
    Howard University also confirmed Jackson was hospitalized and said its President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick met with him Monday night. “Our prayers are with the Jackson family,” the university tweeted.
    Jackson has had an eventful past few months, including being hospitalized for COVID-19 along with his wife in late August. About two months earlier in June, Jackson was arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police for protesting Senate Republicans filibustering voting rights legislation after restrictive election laws were enacted in several key states.
    Jackson’s tireless efforts fighting for civil rights continued this past weekend at Howard University, where he urged students to “never surrender.”
    “Students should not be punished but appreciated for standing up for justice,” Jackson also reportedly said.
    Expounding upon that same sentiment, Jackson reportedly said during a town hall on campus Sunday night, “This is not a legal issue, this is a moral issue.”
    The protest first began as a sit-in on Oct. 12 when students spent the night in the Blackburn Center to get university leadership to heed their complaints about a “housing crisis” for students as well as the university’s board of trustees, among issues.
    The protest sparked a viral #BlackburnTakeover hashtag that populated social media timelines with photos, video footage and first-person testimonials from inside and outside of the Blackburn Center in a demonstration of solidarity against the university administration.