There has been a lot of noise on this forum about Bernie Sanders's lack of street credit with the Black Community and Minorities in general. Many reporters who interview Bernie have been pointing to the lack of Diversity in his crowd, compare to Clinton's crowd. Many people on this forum have been questioning if he cares about issues in the Black community. Once more, history gives us answers to these questions. Thank you youtube for providing us with all these great looks into Bernie's past.
I would like to recommend to those, who continue to doubt Bernie's street cred with the Black community to do a little bit of research to understand Bernie Sanders, the person. Look at Bernie's choices. Most of them were not sexy at the time he made them. Most of them were against the main stream.
Some of us might not be old enough to remember the 1988 Primaries, where Dukakis and Jesse Jackson went neck at neck through the winter and the spring. Jesse Jackson was the only Black candidate for president, who had made it thus far in the presidential race ever and had a mathematical chance to actually win the nomination in a very contested race (with Dukakis and Al Gore). Jesse had carried mostly Southern states. Jesse will go on to win the Vermont Caucus. Bernie had previously endorsed Jesse Jackson in 1984 as well. Needless to say, the Democratic establishment wasn't happy with Bernie.
Below is how Bernie Sanders introduced Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1988 in Vermont.
Bernie Sanders entered into politics through the civil rights movement, more than a half century ago. He organized with CORE (the Congress of Racial Equality) in Chicago, and led a sit-in against segregated housing as far back as 1962.
According to John Nichols of The Nation, Sanders is one of only 2 sitting U.S. Senators who actually attended the 1963 March on Washington, and saw Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., give his “I Have A Dream” speech in person. (The other is Mitch McConnell, believe it or not...) At the time, Sanders was an organizer for SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
*Bernie Sanders is one of the only elected White officeholders who endorsed Jesse Jackson for President (twice!). In 1984, he got slapped at a rally when he endorsed Jackson (though the slap was probably for remaining an Independent Socialist, rather than a Democrat). In 1988, Sanders and his organizers helped Jackson win a surprise victory in the Vermont caucuses--by one state delegate. In Jesse’s memorable phrase, Bernie Sanders & Jim Hightower were among the few elected White officeholders brave enough to “cross the color line” to support him when it mattered.
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