Oct. 29, 2013

Rev. Jesse Jackson Tapped for First Ron Walters Lecture Next Year
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Two weeks after hundreds of Black political and social scientists, students, and civil rights leaders gathered for the first Ronald Walters Legacy Conference at Howard University, the director of the Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center confirms that the Rev. Jesse Jackson has been tapped to star as next year’s lecturer as America approaches the 2014 Congressional elections.

“We’ve already been talking with Rev. Jesse Jackson about doing our first major lecture for us,” says Dr. Elsie Scott, president of the Walters Institute. “We feel like that’s a good stand-alone project.”

That’s, in part, because it was Dr. Ron Walters, an internationally renowned scholar and activist, who advised Rev. Jackson in both of his presidential campaigns – 1984 and 1988. Jackson and his “Rainbow Coalition” registered millions of new voters across the nation. Winning first or second place in 46 out of 54 primary contests in 1988, Walters credited him for laying the groundwork for Black politicians across the nation.

The battle for which political party will dominate the 435-member House of Representatives will go down Nov. 4, 2014. Currently Republicans dominate the House while Democrats have the majority in the U. S. Senate, a scenario that has caused venomous infighting and political bottleneck, including the recent Republican-led government shutdown. Ideally, when one political party takes over both Congressional chambers, legislation goes smoother if the president is also of like mind.

Scott, former president/CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, envisions the Walters Center as a national think tank for political leaders and students. For now, she envisions the center alternating between a major conference and a lecture from year to year. Next year is viewed as a pivotal election year as the nation’s first Black president enters his sixth year in office dealing with a contentious Congress. Rev. Jackson, with his political history and accomplishments will no doubt put the election and America's political moment in context.

Now 72, Jackson – who was also an assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - continues to influence America’s political and social agendas as president/CEO of his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He is a preacher, human and civil rights leader, talk show host and Black press columnist. He is also revered in many countries around the world for his international diplomacy. On August 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

This year’s conference included forums with a mixture of more than 200 civil rights stalwarts, politicians, journalists and students who gathered on Howard's campus Oct. 10-11. They focused on key aspects of Walters’ life and career, which – in addition to politics – included Africa and the African Diaspora; Walters’ activism and his focus on Black leadership.

After spending 13 years as director of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Marylandm Dr. Walters was preparing to return to Howard University as a senior research fellow and lecturer before his death in Sept. 2010. He had served as a professor in the Political Science Department at Howard from 1971 to 1996, nine of which he served as chairman of the department. He published 10 books.

“I feel like the conference accomplished what I hope it would accomplish, one to introduce the center to a broader audience,” Scott said. “And it drew in support for the center, both here at Howard and externally. I think it did that.”

Scott said she was especially pleased that there was a high level of student participation and anticipates the gatherings growth and increasing influence over the years.

She concluded: “We exposed the writings and the scholarship of Ron Walters to another generation. So, there were a lot of students who came to the conference who did not know anything about Ron Walters and they left knowing a lot.”