[ Golden Gater Online - August 28, 1997 ]
by Bill Blackwell II
Christopher Kennedy
Staff writers
SF State students were greeted Wednesday with campus norms: traffic jams, no parking, overcrowded classes and an anti-Proposition 209 rally featuring Jesse Jackson.
The eloquent and impassioned reverend energized students and supporters who packed the lawn in front of Malcolm X Plaza in a rally to drum up support for Thursday's march across the Golden Gate Bridge. Organized by Jackson, the demonstration is in post-election defiance of Proposition 209, which bans race and gender-based relations in state and local government hiring and college admissions, and effectively outlaws affirmative action. Barring any 11th-hour Supreme Court intervention, Proposition 209 will go into effect Thursday.
"March for dignity. March for justice. March for inclusion. March for hope," the energetic Jackson said while recruiting students who were too young to march in Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery. "Today is the time for young California to come alive and march."
In a rally Sunday at Dolores Park, Jackson fueled media attention and the ire of Gov. Pete Wilson by comparing Proposition 209 to an exercise in "gender and ethnic cleansing."
"I know what I said," Jackson said. The reverend defended his comments by pointing out that out of 400 black applicants at two local medical schools, none were accepted, and that across the Bay, there was only one black student enrolled at Boalt Hall law school at UC Berkeley.
"This is eradication... elimination... cleansing," Jackson said, drawing applause from the supportive crowd.
Jackson was quick to point out, however, that this "is not a black issue, but a people issue. Not a minority issue, but a majority issue. You are the people, and you are the majority."
"When we march tomorrow, we march because the babies in Birmingham couldn't march, and because Dr. Martin Luther King couldn't march," Jackson said. "We march to keep the hopes of dreamers alive."
Marchers don't have to worry about being dropped from class. At the state of the university address Monday, President Robert Corrigan asked instructors not to drop students who attend the rally.
Although campus leaders and organizers appreciated Corrigan's support, some felt he could do much more.
Before Jackson took the stage, SF State master's student and Coalition to Defy member Aimee Zenzele Barnes sarcastically thanked President Corrigan for the "big humongous stage" as she spoke at the shoddy podium and pointed to the crowded make-shift stage that barely held the Rev. Jackson and the four other speakers.
"Today is the rebirth of the civil rights movement," said Jeff Dillon, co-founder of the Coalition to Defy 209, as he encouraged people to crowd the lawn. "If you're not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem." Dillon was born while his father spent a year in jail for his participation in the 1968 student protests on this campus that helped pave the way for many of the ethnic studies departments. "My father helped open a door, I walked through the door, and Gov. Pete Wilson is closing the door. We need to hold the door open."
But not everyone was impressed with what Jackson had to say.
"If you're going to do something, do something," said SF State English student Angela Eboli. "All I see is him taking photo opportunities. Show me one thing that he has done, one thing besides raising money for his campaign." But, she said, "This may be a misrepresentation by the media."
Most, however, were clearly moved and joined hands in prayer at the close of Jackson's speech. "The long history of racism in my family has been broken by me," SF State anthropology student Michelle Akharishe confessed to Jackson afterward, as she clamored for an autograph.
The five AS sponsored buses were only partially full when Jesse Jackson started to speak with only 70 or 80 students. By the end of his speech all 185 seats were filled.
[ Golden Gater - August 28, 1997 ]