Jesse Jackson A Voice for Change [Paperback]

The story of the rise to prominence of America's most influential black leader. Join Jesse on his extraordinary journey across the American political landscape -- from his days as a young civil rights activist working with Martin Luther King, Jr., to his two riveting campaigns for president.1
Keeping Hope Alive
 
IT WAS ANOTHER hot, sticky summer night in Atlanta, Georgia. But the heat was not the main thing on the minds of the several thousand people at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in the Omni Coliseum. They were waiting anxiously to hear the man who had dominated the Democratic race for president and had captured the imagination of millions of Americans. Everyone knew by now that this man would not be their candidate for president, but whether he would enthusiastically support the winning ticket was a matter of great concern. The man they were waiting for was Jesse Louis Jackson.
 
Jackson was not just another runner-up for the nomination. In a field of seven candidates, he was one of only two to survive the long, grueling round of state primaries. The seven million votes he had earned had not been enough to win the nomination. That prize was about to go to his chief rival, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. There had been high hopes that Dukakis would choose Jesse as his running mate, but he was passed over for vice president, too. Jesse had been disappointed by the way he felt Dukakis’s campaign team had ignored him and his supporters. There had been a peace meeting between the two men the previous day, but there were still doubts in many people’s minds about how strongly Jackson would support Dukakis and his running mate, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. In another few minutes, the crowd in the Omni Coliseum, and the rest of America watching the convention on television, would know where Jesse Jackson stood.
 
The first Jackson to step out on the speaker’s rostrum, however, was neither the canlƒ£