Using the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a backdrop, Rev. Jesse Jackson chastised President Bush Monday for his recent stand against an affirmative action policy at the University of Michigan, saying the president is undermining King’s dream of equality and freedom.
Joined by Chicago and state leaders at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s annual breakfast honoring King, Jackson said Bush’s claim that the university’s race-based enrollment policies are unconstitutional should spur to action those concerned with civil rights.
“We would have hoped the president would have been on America’s side to even the field. He has not,” Jackson said. “So we must engage in massive direct action, massive street protests to protect the integrity of the civil rights struggle.”
Also disagreeing with the president on affirmative action was Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, a Republican and University of Michigan Law School graduate.
“I am opposed to quotas, but I do believe that some outreach and diversity is a very good thing for our colleges and universities to strive for,” Fitzgerald said.
WIDOW CALLS FOR PEACE: Civil rights leaders and politicians around the nation observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, many of them invoking his name in arguing against war with Iraq and urging the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in college admissions. In Atlanta, King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, called on world leaders to settle their differences peacefully. “We commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. as a great champion of peace who warned us that war was a poor chisel for carving out a peaceful tomorrow,” she said. “We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. Martin said: ‘True peace is not just the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.’ “
BUSH SAYS WORK REMAINS: President Bush, criticized for decisions on affirmative action and conservative federal judgeships, said Monday “there’s still prejudice holding people back” from Martin Luther King Jr.’s dreams of equality. The predominantly black congregation of First Baptist Church of Glenarden in suburban Washington welcomed Bush with a standing ovation as it celebrated in song and scripture the memory of King, who would have turned 74 last Wednesday.
Despite the warm welcome, some members of the congregation said they had trouble with Bush declaring last week his opposition to the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program.
CANDIDATES CRITICIZE BUSH: Democrats vying for the White House used Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to criticize President Bush’s record on civil rights and try to win support of black voters.
Democrats have stepped up criticism of the GOP stance on civil rights since December, when then-Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appeared to praise Strom Thurmond’s pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign. The controversy forced Lott to resign from his leadership post. The black vote could be a critical factor in determining who wins the Democratic presidential nomination, especially in early primary states like South Carolina and Michigan that have a high percentage of blacks among Democratic voters.
