Rev. Jesse Jackson's life and legacy will be celebrated at multiple events in Chicago this week, culminating in a people's celebration on March 6.
The civil rights leader died Tuesday in Chicago at age 84.
Clevelander Jerry Austin is a longtime political consultant, now retired, who managed Jackson's second failed presidential bid in 1988. He spoke with 精东影业's Amy Eddings about that experience.
What did you see in Jackson that made you want to help him become president?
Well, actually, I didn't want to help him become president. What happened is that when he was running in '88, he had as his first goal to get the Black leaders, mostly congresspeople and the Speaker of the House in California, , to support him in 鈥�88, because they didn't support him in 鈥�84.
And so, Willie Brown was asked to be the chair. And he said he'd only come on board if Jackson hired a professional campaign manager, so I was recruited. But I wasn't interested in the job because I thought it would be the same as 鈥�84. And I met with Willie Brown, and he said to me, 'Why should I hire a white guy to run a campaign for this Black guy running for president?'
And I said, 'Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not applying for the job. You know, you gotta re-recruit me.鈥�
And he laughed, and we hit it off, and eventually I met Rev. Jackson, who I had never met before. And I decided that I will do this, not because I thought he could win, but because I thought he鈥檇 take a campaign to places that candidates have never gone to, and I was right.
Say more about that.
Well, most people running for president would never go to an Indian reservation, would never go to a coal mining community or a very rural community in Appalachia. And he went to all those places, and the reason was, he wanted to show those folks that they existed, that they were important, and he wanted them to participate in the process of picking a president or picking a city council person to get them involved. And he did.
Of course, Jackson loses the Democratic nomination to , but his speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1988 is classic.
鈥淲e must never surrender! America will get better and better! Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Vote tomorrow night and beyond. Keep hope alive! I love you very much," Jackson said to a chorus of cheers.
I know you heard that speech over and over again, but was there something different about listening to it at the DNC?
Well, the difference was seeing people's reaction to something I was immune to, right? Because I saw it all the time. And people were crying. Those are the people in the audience. Who knows what was going on back at home, people watching on TV.
He had a unique ability to speak to 2,000 well-heeled people in a Black church in Harlem, and 200 very, very poor people in Meridian, Mississippi 鈥� gave the same speech. And at the end of the speech, which people don't know, he passed the hat.
So, if you're doing a Black church in Harlem, he'd say, 鈥榃ho鈥檒l give me $1,000?鈥� Five or six people put their hands up. In Meridian, Mississippi, nobody gave him $1,000, but he asked for it. He asked for $500, he asked for $50. Nobody raised their hand. 鈥榃ho鈥檒l give me something?鈥� Everybody raised their hands. You pass the hat, and you got, maybe, a $5 bill, mostly dollars.
And I said to him, 'Why do you do that?'
He said, 鈥楤ecause those people in Meridian, Mississippi, giving me a dollar have bought into my campaign. They're part of that campaign. Those people in Harlem gave me $1,000, they're just investors.鈥�
Jerry Austin is a retired political consultant and the author of the 2017 book, "True Tales from the Campaign Trail, Stories Only Political Consultants Can Tell." Thank you for coming into the studio and talking with me.
Anytime.
