KK – On April 3, 1968, the day before he was assassinated, with the eyes of faith Martin Luther King proclaimed ‘I have been to the Mountain Top. I have seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you but I want you to know that we as a people will reach the Promised Land…’ Have you, Rev Jesse Jackson, seen this Promised Land that Rev. King referred to, in reality? Would you say the African Americans have entered this Promised Land?
JJ – No, neither I, nor African Americans generally, have yet seen the Promised Land in reality in America. The Promised Land is a land of equal opportunity for all. The Promised Land is an equitable sharing in the productivity of abundance and the blessings of plenty that the American economy has engendered. The Promised Land is a land of democracy where everyone eligible by age and citizenship can participate, vote and have their vote counted equally. The Promised Land is a land where all people have dignity. The Promised Land is an equal high quality educational opportunity for all children and young people. The Promised Land is safe, sanitary and affordable housing for everyone. The Promised Land is an equal high quality health care for all. The Promised Land is a land of religious, racial, ethnic and gender tolerance, appreciation and celebration. We are not there yet, but those are some of the goals, and as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “the greatest of America is the right to protest for the right.” The mandate in our nation’s Preamble is to “build a more perfect Union.” We’re not there yet, but we have the right to strive toward our goals.
KK – In an article in The New York Times, of 24th May 1968, you were called an ‘Emerging Rights Leader’ and in this period, many newspaper articles referred to you as King’s successor and several black leaders viewed you as Martin Luther King’s successor as you seemed to be the only activist who was preaching racial reconciliation like King. What happened that you didn’t succeed him? And what was your relationship with the new leadership?
JJ – I wasn’t the only activist and my relationship with other African American leaders was a good one. We achieve operational unity. I never saw myself as Dr. King’s “successor,” but as his “disciple” committed to continuing his work of social, economic and racial justice. I joined Dr. King in Selma in March 1965 after Bloody Sunday and the campaign for the right of African Americans to vote without discrimination. Shortly thereafter he appointed me the Chicago Director of Operation Breadbasket (OBB), the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In August 1967, he appointed me the National Director of Operation Breadbasket, his last national appointment. I’ve done my best to carry forth the assignment he gave me relative to breaking down the racial barriers in businesses and the private economy.
KK – At a time, you referred to Leon Sullivan as your ‘mentor,’ and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly inspired you to become fully involved in the civil rights movement. Even though you had closely worked with these great leaders, were some of your personal ideologies different from theirs?
JJ – I don’t think I had any fundamental personal, social, economic or political ideological differences with either of those two men and both of them inspired me. Both men believed in using any and all of the various resources and tools we could muster – moral persuasion, rational arguments, education, economic development and leverage, non-violent direct action, voter registration and political power – to achieve our goal of racial justice. Rev. Leon Sullivan brought the concept behind OBB (Operation Bread Basket) to Dr. King and laid out the process of research, education, negotiation, if negotiations break down, confrontation and ultimately reconciliation as the process for confronting and negotiating with businesses in the private sector.
KK – Twice, in the ‘80s, you vied for the highest office in the United States of America. Many believed you would be the first black president, but that did not happen. Two decades later, however, Barack Obama clinched that position at first trial. What do you think he did or possessed that you may not have done or not have had to be president?
JJ – There are many African Americans who possess the intelligence and skill to be President of the United States. In 1984, when I ran, the Democratic Party was still practicing the presidential primary campaign rule of “Winner Take All,” that is if you won a state you got all the delegates. It’s unlikely that any African American could win the Democratic presidential nomination under those rules, including Barack Obama. Between 1984 and 1988 we protested that rule and Steve Cobble, on behalf of our campaign, negotiated a new rule of “proportionality.” The Democratic National Committee (DNC) wanted the rule set at 20 percent – i.e., any votes over 20 percent and the delegates would be divided proportionately – and we wanted it set at 10 percent. We compromised at 15 percent. Without that rule change, Hillary Clinton would have won the nomination in 2008 because she won all the big states – California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Florida – and would have gotten all the delegates. The Jackson 15 Percent Rule is still in effect in the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries.
KK – Kamala Harris is the United States of America’s first femaleVice President. She is also of African descent. What does she represent to the African American community, and gender politics?
JJ – She represents qualified women, racial growth, gender growth, greater political opportunity and increased African American political power. She represents the opportunity to educate the President and the American people so that racial progress can be accelerated and all of America is made better.
KK – An activist in Nigeria recently said that every single social activist in the history of Nigeria had attempted to get into public office [because] public office is the ultimate arena for activism… that is where [activists] display the ultimate love for the common man. Do you agree?
JJ – No. Jesus didn’t seek political office and he was an activist and I don’t think anyone can name another person who ever displayed greater concern for the common man than him. Neither Gandhi nor Dr. King ever sought or achieved political office and in many ways they changed and continue to change the world more than any politician ever did. A teenage Greta Thunberg may have done more to change our attitude and the politics toward our environmental crisis than any other person in the world. So, while politics is extremely important – in many ways it is the highest science and art form of the human family – no, one does not have to be a politician to show great regard and make a great contribution to the betterment and advancement of the human family.
KK – You are well known as one of the foremost American civil rights activists, Baptist minister and politicians. How have you been able to combine these tripods to redefine American racial landscapes (that is by influencing race relations in America positively)?
JJ – At my core I’m a religious person, trained theologically and morally obligated to act non-violently for social, economic and racial justice and to strive for great peace in the world. My religion makes me political. My politics doesn’t make me religious. False religion, mostly by men, has been used for evil. Good religion, practiced by fallible human beings, has been used for good in the world. I endeavor to practice good religion.
KK – Between the 1980s and 1990s, you were quite influential on international matters. From the Middle East to South America, Africa, Europe and Asia, you became famous for your peace efforts. Were all these meant to further entrench America’s hegemony in global affairs or an agenda to change the Black narrative?
JJ – Neither. I am an American, but I was only trying to rescue individuals from captivity, give peace a better chance to be achieved and bring about more just relations between nations. It’s not good for any nation to have hegemony in the world. Power can be corrupting and an imbalance of power almost certainly guarantees injustice. As a result of my training and experience, I believe, as the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr taught, that justice requires a balance of power. So, to the degree that I am able, my understanding and my goal is to seek a balance of economic and political power between the races and amongst nations. I think a balance of economic and political power provides the best opportunity for real justice between the races and a lasting peace in the world.
KK – If you were to advise your younger self today, what 3 things would you tell him?
JJ – One, if your mission in life is to achieve a more just society and world, develop revolutionary patience, fight for revolutionary change, but know that real structural change usually takes time and doesn’t come overnight. Certainly, that’s true in a democracy! Two, don’t spend all of your time and effort on external change. Develop your internal strength as well. The external struggle for change and justice doesn’t always go well and will not go in a straight line. There will be setbacks, so develop your internal strength and will to sustain you through hard and difficult times. Three, strive to have your “means” of struggle and your “ends” of struggle as close together as is humanly possible. You really can’t use unjust means and expect to achieve a just society. You can’t create the Beloved Community filled with hate. I believe what Dr. King said, “the arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I can’t prove that, but I believe that. It’s an article of faith on my part that has guided my actions through over six decades of activism.
KK – At 80, what do you know for sure?
JJ – I know hate and fear is not the road to love and justice. I know, as Fredrick Douglass knew, “The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning.” I know and believe, as Jewish Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl knew, that if you can find meaning in life – a “why” for living – you can survive any “how” of living. I know that life isn’t fair to all, but all can strive to be fair. I know, as Dr. King knew, that no one should be a slave or discriminated against; that, even so, we cannot all be famous, but all of us can be great, because all can learn to engage in meaningful and socially useful service and find joy and meaning in being of service to others. I know that mature love is difficult, but it cannot be defeated. I know that if I love you there’s nothing you can do about it.
KK – What would you consider to be your greatest achievement in life?
JJ – I don’t have a greatest achievement. I’ve tried (not always successful) and done a lot of things in my life, but I can’t isolate one as my greatest achievement. I’ve tried to be faithful to God’s mission for my life. I’ve tried to be faithful to the assignment that Dr. King gave me. I’ve tried to make life better for those born with the odds stacked against them. I’ve tried to be a loving person, sensitive to the needs of those around me. So I guess I would say, my greatest achievement is, “I’ve tried.”
KK – In 2011 you were in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as a keynote speaker at the Garden City Literary Festival organized by the Rainbow Book Club and over the years you have kept abreast with our work. We would love to hear your comments on our humble efforts.
JJ – When I met sister Koko Kalango in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, I was very impressed with her vision to promote reading for personal and social development. I am very inspired by her work because it reminds me of one of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. values – Education.
She is a treasure and we must embrace and celebrate her by supporting her projects. If we believe that education is the pathway to fighting poverty and thus lead to success, which I do, then reading is the key.
The work of the Rainbow Book Club under the leadership of sister Koko Kalango is very vital in preparing children to compete and survive in a continuously changing world.
Sister Kalango understood the importance of reading and took it upon herself to make sure that it is highlighted, especially in Nigeria. She made it her life mission to make a difference and history will be very kind to her vital contribution in education.
Keep Hope Alive
Mrs. Koko Kalango MON, is the founder of the Rainbow Book Club and Director, Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014.