WASHINGTON – Jesse Jackson said Thursday that the Tea Party's tenets are reminiscent of state's rights philosophies used in decades past to oppose federally mandated integration.
"The Tea Party is not new," Jackson said at a luncheon honoring civil rights pioneers on Thursday. "It's just a new name for an old game."
The event was one of several taking place this week in conjunction with Sunday's planned dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. Organizers announced Thursday night that the dedication had been postponed because of Hurricane Irene.
The luncheon, held in a packed ballroom, cost $85 to attend. It included surviving confidantes of King — Andrew Young, former U.N. ambassador and mayor of Atlanta, and Julian Bond, a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee— along with modern-day civil rights leaders, including NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and National Urban League President Marc Morial, who was emcee.
Several speakers urged the public to use the memorial dedication as a starting point for addressing society's problems. "We haven't yet reached the promised land that Dr. King spoke of," said Attorney General Eric Holder, who added that he and President Obama were results of the civil rights movement.
Jackson, who was with King when he was shot and killed in Memphis in 1968, said modern-day civil rights efforts should focus on issues such as ending "expensive, unnecessary, ungodly wars" and creating a fair tax code where "the wealthiest pay their fair share." He also called for reversing policies — such as disparities in how crimes involving cocaine and crack are punished — that result in longer prison sentences for African-American men. His voice caught and shook at times during the speech.
In an interview, Jackson noted that the pacifist label that society has placed on King is not completely accurate.
"He believed in tough negotiations and confrontation before reconciliation," Jackson said, adding that King confronted transportation segregation in Montgomery, Ala., and voting rights discrimination in Birmingham and Selma, Ala.
"People who come here must not reduce him to poetry," Jackson said.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, also spoke of tough fights ahead. "Martin King wrote in 1961 about love, war and civil disobedience and he said we must be determined to resist reactionaries," she said. "My friends, you are now entering a reactionary period probably worse than post-Reconstruction."
After hearing of Jackson's remarks Thursday, Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips said they were the latest desperate attempt by liberals to use racism charges to dismiss the validity of the Tea Party's message.
"The Tea Party is actually the group that believes in the words of Martin Luther King when he said he wanted to see a day where people were judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin," Phillips said.
The group has faced criticism of being a racist group, a claim made most visibly by former National Public Radio fundraiser Ron Schiller, who was caught on hidden camera calling the group racist and xenophobic, prompting his immediate resignation.
Tea Party members reject that accusation, saying they are focused on reducing the size and scope of the federal government and adhering to the principles of the Constitution.
"It is unfortunate that at an event intended to honor the memory of an American hero who gave his life to ensure equal rights for every American, Jesse Jackson would choose to use the moment to make false statements which detract from the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.," said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots.
King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, echoed the idea of the week's events catapulting society to action.
"My hope is that more people, particularly young people, embrace his message in our daily lives," King said during an interview. "One day we can just sit around and truly celebrate and relax, but not yet."
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Sunday, August 28th 2011 at 5:01PM
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