"In 1979, PUSH was holding a convention in Cleveland. Brown, then in his second term as California governor and planning a second presidential campaign, was invited to speak. Therefore, I found myself on a redeye flight from California to Cleveland with Brown, his state welfare director, Marion Woods, and a reporter from the Los Angeles Times whose name I can't recall."
"I cannot recall the content. Shortly thereafter Jackson wound down the session by appealing for money, shouting out various amounts and asking those willing to meet the requests to come on down, as a choir rocked the venue with vigorous renditions of spirituals. At one point, Jackson turned to Brown and suggested he could donate. Brown stared straight ahead, neither responding nor giving."
"I had covered Brown's first run for the White House in 1976 for the Sacramento Union and was curious about how his yearnings for the spotlight would play off Jackson's equally strong penchant for attention. That day the PUSH program was half political gathering and half religious service, with music and singing all being broadcast over a network of radio stations. Brown appeared to be taken aback, or perhaps confused, about the unusual format, but on cue he mounted the podium and delivered his remarks."
Rev. Jesse Jackson died this week. Jackson founded PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in 1971 after splitting from Martin Luther King's organization following King's assassination. In 1979, PUSH held a convention in Cleveland that mixed political gathering and religious service, with music and singing broadcast on radio. Jerry Brown, then California governor and planning a presidential run, was invited to speak and delivered remarks. Jackson closed the session by soliciting donations, calling out amounts as a choir sang. Jackson asked Brown to contribute; Brown did not respond or give. The session ended and Brown and his entourage were invited to Jackson's hotel suite.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]