1988 Democratic National Convention : Jackson: Our Challenge . . . Is to Find Common Ground

Following are excerpts from the prepared text of the speech Tuesday night by the Rev. Jesse Jackson to the Democratic National Convention:

When I look out at this convention, I see the face of America, red, yellow, brown, black and white, all are precious in God’s sight--the rainbow coalition. All of you think you are seated. But you’re really standing on someone’s shoulders. Ladies and gentlemen: Rosa Parks.

I want to express my deep love and appreciation for the support my family has given me over these past months.

They have endured pain, anxiety, threat and fear.

But they have been strengthened and made secure by a faith in God, in America and in you.

Your love has protected us and made us strong.

To my wife Jackie, the foundation of our family; to our five children whom you met tonight; to my mother, Mrs. Helen Jackson; and to my grandmother, Mrs. Maltilda Burns; my mother-in-law, Gertrude Brown; I want to thank them for their unconditional support.

I am grateful.

I offer my appreciation to Mayor Andrew Young who has provided such gracious hospitality to all of us this week.

And a special salute to President Jimmy Carter. He restored honor to the White House after Watergate. . . . He gave many of us a special opportunity to grow. For his kind words, and for the votes of every other member of his family, led by Billy and Amy, I offer him my special thanks.

Blood, Sweat of Innocent

My right and my privilege to stand here before you has been won--in my lifetime--by the blood and the sweat of the innocent.

Twenty-four years ago, Fanny Lou Hamer and Aaron Henry--who sits here tonight--were locked out on the streets of Atlantic City, the head of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Tonight, a black and white delegation from Mississippi is headed by Ed Cole, a black man.

Many were lost in the struggle for the right to vote. Jimmy Lee Jackson, a young student, gave his life. Viola Liuzzo, a white mother from Detroit, called nigger lover, brains blown out at point blank range.

Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney--two Jews and a black--found in a common grave, riddled with bullets in Mississippi. The four darling little girls blown up in the church in Birmingham, Ala. They died that we might live.

Dr. Martin Luther King lies only a few miles from us. Tonight he must feel good as he looks down upon us. . . .

As a testament to the struggles of those who have gone before; as a legacy for those who will come after; as a tribute to the endurance, the patience, the courage of our forefathers and mothers; as an assurance that their prayers are being answered, their work was not in vain, and hope is eternal; tomorrow night my name will go into nomination for the presidency of the United States.

At a Crossroads

We meet tonight at a crossroads, a point of decision. . . .

Shall we expand, be inclusive, find unity and power; or suffer division and impotence.

We come to Atlanta, the cradle of the Old South, the crucible of the new.

Tonight there is a sense of celebration because we have moved, fundamentally, from racial battlegrounds by law, to economic common ground, with the challenge to move to moral higher ground. . . .

Common ground!

Think of Jerusalem--the intersection where many trails met. A small village that became the birthplace for three great religions--Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Why was this village so blessed? Because it provided a crossroads where different people, different cultures and different civilizations could meet and find common ground.

When people come together, flowers always flourish and the air is rich with the aroma of a new spring.

Take New York, the dynamic metropolis. What makes New York so special?

It is the invitation of the Statue of Liberty--give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Not restricted by English only.

Many people, many cultures, many languages--with one thing in common, the yearn to breathe free.

Common ground!

And tonight in Atlanta, for the first time in this century we convene in the South.

A state where governors once stood in school house doors. . . . Atlanta, now a modern intersection of the New South.

Common ground!

Party’s Challenge

That is the challenge to our party tonight.

Left wing. Right wing. Progress will come not through boundless liberalism nor static conservatism, but at the critical mass of mutual survival. It takes two wings to fly.

The Bible teaches that when lions and the lambs can lie down together and none will be afraid, there will be peace in the valley. . . . It sounds impossible. Lions eat lambs; lambs sensibly flee from lions. Yet even lions and lambs can find common ground.

Why? Neither lions nor lambs want the forest to catch fire. Neither lions nor lambs want acid rain to fall. Neither lions nor lambs can survive nuclear war. If lions and lambs can find common ground, surely we can.

The only time we win is when we come together. In 1960, (John F.) Kennedy beat (Richard M.) Nixon by only 112,000 votes. He brought us together, and reached out.

He had the courage to defy his advisers, and inquire about Dr. King’s jailing in Albany, Ga. We won by the margin of our hope, inspired by courageous leadership.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson brought us together and we won.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter unified us again and we won.

And when we do not come together we never win.

In 1968, division and despair in July led to our defeat in November.

In 1980, rancor in the spring and summer led to defeat in the fall.

When we divide, we cannot win. So our challenge here is to find common ground.

Dignified Campaign

Tonight I salute Gov. Michael Dukakis. He has run a well-managed and a dignified campaign.

No matter how tired or how tried, he always resisted the temptation to stoop to demagoguery. I have watched a good mind fast at work, with steel nerves, guiding his campaign out of the crowded field without appeal to the worst in us.

I have watched his perspective grow as his environment has expanded. I’ve seen his toughness and tenacity close up and know his commitment to public service.

Mike Dukakis’ parents were a doctor and a teacher. My parents were a maid and a janitor. . . . His foreparents came to America on immigrant ships. My foreparents came to America on slave ships.

But whatever the original ships, we are both in the same boat now. . . . Apart we can drift on the broken pieces of Reaganomics, satisfy our baser instincts, and exploit the fears of our people.

At our highest, we can call upon our noble instincts and navigate this vessel to safety. . . .

Common ground.

Gov. Dukakis and I share a common commitment to new priorities, to expansion and to inclusion. A commitment to expanding participation in the Democratic Party at every level. . . .

Common ground is a commitment to a legislative agenda for empowerment--to the Conyers bill for universal, same-day voter registration, to D.C. statehood, to enforcement of economic set-asides. . . , to the Dellums bill for comprehensive sanctions against South Africa. Commitment to a new direction.

Common ground is found in commitment to new priorities, to expansion and inclusion. A commitment to expanding participation in the Democratic Party at every level.

Involvement at Every Level

A commitment to a shared national campaign strategy, and involvement at every level.

A commitment to new priorities that ensure that hope will be kept alive.

Common ground. Where do we find common ground? At the point of challenge. This campaign has shown that politics need not be the marketing of politicians packaged by pollsters and pundits. Politics can be a moral arena where people come together to find common ground.

We find common ground at the plant gate that closes on workers without notice. Common ground at the farm auction where a good farmer loses his land to bad loans or diminishing markets. Common ground at the school yard where teachers cannot get adequate pay, students can’t find a scholarship, can’t make a loan. Common ground at the hospital admitting room, where the sick lie dying, unable to go up to a bed that’s empty waiting for the insured to get sick.

Common ground. What is leadership if not to present help in a time of crisis?

So I have met you at the point of challenge.

In Jay, Maine, where paper workers were striking for fair wages. In Greenfield, Iowa, where family farmers struggle for a fair price. In Cleveland, Ohio, where working women seek comparable worth. In McFarland, Calif., where the children of Hispanic farm workers may be dying from a poisoned land--dying in clusters with cancer. In the AIDS hospice in Houston, Tex., where the sick support one another, too often rejected even by their loved ones. . . .

America Not a Blanket

Common ground. America is not a blanket, woven from one thread, one color, one cloth. When I was a child in South Carolina, and momma couldn’t afford a blanket, she didn’t complain and we didn’t freeze. Instead she took pieces of old cloth--patches--wool, silk, gaberdine, croker sack--only patches, barely good enough to shine your shoes with. But they didn’t stay that way long. With sturdy hands and strong cord, she sewed them together into a quilt, a thing of power, beauty and culture. Now we must build a quilt together.

Farmers, when you seek fair prices, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough. Workers, when you seek fair wages, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough. Women, when you seek comparable worth and pay equity, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough. Mothers, when you seek Head Start, prenatal care and day care, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough. Students, when you seek scholarships, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough.

Blacks and Hispanics, when we fight for civil rights, we are right--but our patch isn’t big enough. Gays and lesbians, when you fight against discrimination and for a cure for AIDS, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough. Conservatives and progressives, when you fight for what you believe, you are right--but your patch isn’t big enough.

But don’t despair. When we bring the patches together, make a quilt, and turn to each other and not on each other, we the people always win. . . .

End of Long, Dark Night

We stand at the end of a long, dark night of reaction. We stand tonight united in the commitment to a new direction. For almost eight years, we have been led by those who view social good coming from private interest, who viewed public life as a means to increase private wealth. They have been prepared to sacrifice the common good of the many to satisfy the private interests of a few.

We believe in a government that is the tool of democracy in service to the public health, education, affordable housing, not an instrument of aristocracy in search of private wealth. We believe in government by, of and for the people. We must now emerge into a new day and a new direction.

Reaganomics. Reaganomics was based on the belief that the rich had too much money and the poor had too little. So reverse Robin Hood--take from the poor and give to the rich.

Today--seven years later--the richest 1% of our society pay 20% less in taxes. The poorest 10% pay 20% more. Reaganomics.

Reagan gave the rich and the powerful a multibillion-dollar party. Now when the party’s over, he expects the people to pay for the damage.

But we say, let us not raise taxes on poor and middle-class people. The rich and the corporations must pay their fair share of taxes. Let those who had the party pay for the party. Reaganomics!

$150 Billion for Defense

We are spending over $150 billion a year defending Europe and Japan 43 years after the war is over. We have more troops today in Europe than we had seven years ago. Yet the threat of war is ever more remote.

Germany and Japan are now creditor nations; we are a debtor nation. Let them share more of the burden of their own defense. We can use some of the money to invest in prenatal care, Head Start and day care, to invest in education, to invest in our children that they might grow, and strengthen this country from the inside out.

We must reverse Reaganomics. . . .

Leaders address the moral challenge of their day. The moral challenge of our day is economic violence. Plants that close on workers without notice. Economic violence. Consumers gouged by corporate greed. Economic violence. A minimum wage that keeps workers in poverty. Economic violence.

We must make sense. The No. 1 threat to our national security tonight is drugs. We must stop the flow of drugs into this country. Drugs are killing our children, threatening our neighborhoods, undermining our society. Educate the children, yes, but do not stop there.

We are spending $150 billion a year on drugs. Children are not buying $150 billion worth of drugs. Athletes are not laundering that money. Bankers are.

Let’s get serious about a war on drugs. Bust the bankers who launder and the gun dealers who exploit. This party’s platform commits us to a serious war on drugs. Convene the nations where drugs are grown, offer them economic assistance for alternative crops. Strengthen our Coast Guard and Border Patrol to stop the drugs coming this way. Education and rehabilitation for those who are sick. . . .

We Must Defend Poor

We must defend the poor and deliver the needy. Today in Reagan’s America there are more poor people than ever. Most poor people are not black or brown. Most poor people are young, white and female. But what does it matter?

Red, white, black or brown. A hungry baby’s belly turned inside out--color it hunger, color it pain.

Most poor people are not on welfare, they work hard every day that they can. They sweep the streets. They work. They catch the early bus. They work. They pick up garbage. They work. They feed our children in school. They work. . . .

In the nuclear age, war is irrational. Strong leadership can never let the desire to look tough stand in the way of the pursuit of peace. . . .

Leaders must address the critical struggles in the world today.

We can have peace in Central America. Stop the illegal war on Nicaragua, and join the regional peace process that offers dialogue and hope.

We can have peace in the Middle East. Mutual recognition for mutual security, land for peace. We must know that Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination are two sides of the same coin. . . . Help rebuild Lebanon. And pursue peace in the Persian Gulf. Seek the release of Terry Anderson and hostages. We reach out to them tonight.

We must have freedom in South Africa. . . .

We can act to end the austerity and desperation that burdens Latin America and Africa. Engage our allies, relieve their debt, offer a Marshall Plan for growth and development. Their debt is a factor in our deficit. . . .

Soul Is Our Youth

We can win. But we must not gain the whole world and lose our own soul. Our soul is our youth. We must not lose them to drugs, violence, premature pregnancy, suicide, cynicism, pessimism and despair. We must challenge our youth with high visions, hope and dreams. They must not be put in an environment or taught to submerge their dreams.

Young people, I challenge you this night, exercise the right to dream. Face reality, but don’t stop with the way things are, dream of things as they ought to be. Face pain, but love, hope, faith and dreams will help you to rise above pain. Use hope and imagination as weapons of survival and progress. Use hope to motivate you and love to obligate you to serve the human race.

Dream. Dream of peace. Choose the human race over the nuclear race. We must bury the weapons and not burn the people.

Young people, dream of a new value system. Dream of teachers, but teachers who will teach for life, not just for a living. Dream of doctors, but doctors who are more concerned with public health than personal wealth. Dream of lawyers, but lawyers who are more concerned with justice than a judgeship. Dream of artists, but artists who will convey music and message, rhythm, and reason.

Dream of priests and preachers, but priests and preachers who will prophesy and not profiteer. Dream of authentic leaders who will mold public opinion against a head wind, not just ride the tail winds of opinion polls. Dream of a world where we measure character by how much we share and care, not by how much we take and consume.

America must never surrender to a high moral challenge.

America must never surrender to drugs. No first use is our policy; clinics for those who are sick. Not free needles and cynicism. Never surrender, go forward.

We Can Feed the Hungry

America must never surrender to malnutrition. We can feed the hungry and clothe the poor. We will never surrender, we will go forward.

America must never surrender to illiteracy. We will invest in our children. Never surrender, go forward.

America must never surrender to inequality. Women deserve comparable and pay equity. Women make 60 cents of every dollar a man makes. Yet they can’t buy bread cheaper, they can’t buy homes cheaper. Women deserve comparable worth and pay equity.

Our nation will never surrender to AIDS. People with AIDS deserve our compassion, but they deserve more than that. They deserve resources for research, expedited approval of drugs, a coordinated offensive to stop AIDS now.

Those in your wheelchairs, don’t surrender. I know that people look down upon you. They try to break your spirit. But stay tall in your chairs. You are measured by the size of your character, not the height of your reach. Remember when this nation was down, we turned to Franklin Roosevelt, who could not stand on his legs, to put the nation back on its feet. I tell you this--I would rather have Roosevelt in a wheelchair than Reagan on a horse.

Never surrender, move forward.

My work to keep America strong and make America better is ancient and endless.

Don’t Give Up

We can win. When I stand here tonight, it has a meaning for those who are down, those who are tired or bent. Don’t give up. Hold on, for the morning comes. You can make it if you try. Hold on, the morning comes. How do I know?

I understand. I am the son of a teen-age mother, who was the daughter of a teen-age mother. I understand. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I understand.

You see Jesse Jackson on television, but you don’t know the me that makes me me. Jesse Jackson is my third name. I am adopted. I never spent a night in my daddy’s house. I really do understand.

Born in my mother’s bed. She couldn’t afford hospital care. I understand.

Born in a three-room house. Bathroom in the back yard, slop jar by the bed. I understand.

I am a working person’s person. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but a shovel in my hand. My mother was a working mother. Went to work with runs in her stockings so that I could have new socks and not be embarrassed in school. I really do understand.

We didn’t eat turkey on 3 o’clock on Thanksgiving Day, because momma was off cooking someone else’s turkey. We’d play football to pass the time till momma came home. Around 6 we would meet her at the bottom of the hill, carrying back the leftovers from Miz Marshall’s table. I really do understand.

Born in the Slum

All these experts on subculture, underclass. I got my life degree in subculture. Looked down on. Rejected. Low expectations. Told you can’t make it. I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me. And it wasn’t born in you. You can make it.

Hold your head high. Stick your chest out. You can make it. I know it gets rough sometimes. Hold on, the morning comes. I know you get tired sometimes. Hold on, the morning comes. Suffering breeds character, character breeds faith, and in the end faith will not disappoint.

The quest continues, my friends. We are winning every day and in every way. We are so far from where we started and so close to where we are going.

I don’t feel no ways tired.

The God we serve, that endowed our nation, did not bring us this far to leave us now. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.