Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson on Voting Rights

Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson on Voting Rights

On Sept. 17, 2008, the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at a symposium honoring the U.S. Constitution, in Baltimore, MD. His talk referenced the long, historic struggle of African-Americans for Civil Rights in America and the many court and legislative victories that were won along the way. He recalled, too, the heroics of some of the martyrs, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., in those events of yesteryear. Rev. Jackson said: “Barack [Obama] is running the last lap of a 34-year race...He is the anchor leg of that race.” He underscored that “voter disenfranchisement schemes are alive today” in 2008. The symposium was held at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). The affair, entitled, “Whose Democracy Is this Anyway?: Voting Rights and Electoral Reform,” was cosponsored by MICA and the ACLU.