Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson visits Myrtle Beach
Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. was in Myrtle Beach pressing the need for civility, sensible gun control measures, Medicaid expansion and increased voter registration.
With political heavyweights traveling the country in preparation for the 2020 presidential election, Jackson appeared before the annual State Baptist Convention at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center Thursday morning highlighting the oppression felt by several thousand residents across the state as he gears up to start his statewide voter registration drive.
“It hurts me to see in South Carolina the poor people fighting for the right to remain poor,” Jackson said. “We deserve better.”
With roughly 220,000 unregistered black residents in South Carolina, Jackson, founder of the Rainbow Push Coalition, a multi-racial, multi-issue organization fighting for social change, said he will spend the months ahead visiting schools, colleges, places of worship and communities across the state encouraging residents and teens to register to vote, a mission he’s been on for nearly six decades.
“The state is losing $1 billion a year in Medicaid funds. The hospital where former Gov. Nikki Haley was born closed in 2012. Rural hospitals across the state are in danger of doing the same. Gun violence is out of control,” Jackson said. “The best way to stop this suffering and waste is to register and vote.”
Citing several incidents of gun violence, including Tuesday’s shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado that killed one and injured eight, Jackson added that assault weapons should be banned, explaining they have no social use in a civilized society.
He said places of worship and schools are no longer a refuge for people with assault weapons often ending up in the hands of those who are mentally unstable. There’s too much violence in the country, he said.
While Jackson isn’t planning a presidential run, as he did twice in the 1980s, he shared his support for Democratic hopefuls Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Indiana Mayor Peter Buttigieg.
He said all four candidates will inspire enough public interest to register voters. Jackson added they will also benefit the country with their focus on ending corporate greed and improving healthcare, consumer protection and gun control.
Jackson, a Greenville native, also stressed the need for civility throughout the country, stating people of all races and nationalities need to learn to better co-exist.
“Learn to live together. It’s civilized and practical,” Jackson said. “We need to judge by character, not by color. We can get better, just don’t give up.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 4:16 PM.
