Conflicting emotions, feeling of disappointment, timing of revelation that Rev. Jackson fathered a child with former aide lead to charges of "right-wing orchestration"

Special to USAfricaonline.com
Supporters and opponents of Rev. Jackson are expressing their "sense of betrayal" over the civil rights leader's latest social twist and sudden fall from grace; although many say temporarily. While Jackson and millions of Americans see the scandal as a matter of his own "making and responsibility", New York Daily News reporter William Bunch and other liberal activists are raising a divergent issue as to whether the January 18 outing of the Rev. Jackson as the father of a 20-month-old by was "an orchestrated hit by the right-wing - aimed at dampening protests over President-elect Bush and his attorney general pick, John Ashcroft?" Prof. Ronald Walters, University of Maryland professor who chaired Stanford's dissertation committee, called Stanford "a bright young woman." He added that "I don't think this is going to have much of an impact on Reverend Jackson's future," said Walters who co-authored "African-American Leadership" with Smith. "He has built up 30 years of capital, standing up for human rights, civil rights, women's rights, labor rights. By that standard, this is a minor thing." Jackson has decided to "withdraw temporarily" from public engagement. Others like elederly Rev. James Lowery have also conveyed their sympathy for the implications on Jackson moral leverage to lead the civil rights movement. Family and friends of the Rev. Jesse Jackson are seeking prayers and privacy. The baby (a girl), now 20 months old, was born while Jackson was advising Clinton as his spiritual counselor in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky adultery scandal. The affair has, as expected, negatively impacted Rev. Jackson's 38-year marriage. USAfricaonline.com with wire reports

 Special to USAfricaonline.com

By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

SUMMARY OF VIEWPOINT:
The moment the news broke on Wednesday night, January 16, 2001, that Jesse Jackson had fathered a child out of wedlock a parade of black elected officials, civil rights leaders, community activists, and persons on the street immediately pleaded for prayer, understanding, and forgiveness for Jackson. Some even praised him for publicly admitting his sexual dalliance. This was not surprising. Blacks have been more than willing to circle the racial wagons and forgive, if not outright defend, their leader's sexual misconduct. Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry, and even Black Baptist leader, Henry Lyons, quickly come to mind. They chalk their behavior up to the pressures of racism, cite the need for racial unity, and hint at conspiracies, and plots to nail black leaders. But even as many blacks call for forgiveness for Jackson, the troubling issue is not his moral lapse but his leadership.

Jackson has been black America's longest standing voice of protest. He could be counted on to pop up at a rally or lead a demonstration championing improved health care, education, end to police violence, worker‚s rights, prison and criminal justice system reform, affirmative action, and black political gains.

But the top heavy reliance on Jackson to rev-up the crowds and carry the torch on the burning social issues carries a steep price. This was immediately apparent in the fall-out after his affair. Many blacks expected him to keep media and public attention locked on their battle to torpedo the confirmation of attorney general designate John Ashcroft and the continuing protests over allegations of voter fraud in Florida. But he abruptly announced that he will temporarily withdraw from public life. This took the edge off the protests and caused many black activists to scramble to regroup.

The love-hate affair between Jackson and the media and the public didn't happen by chance. From the moment Playboy Magazine anointed him as the heir apparent to Martin Luther King, Jr. following King‚s assassination in 1968 many editors and reporters dutifully fell in line, not because they were enthralled by his captivating personality, recognized his considerable talents, or genuinely believed that he was the next King, but because they felt compelled to pick a black leader that they feel comfortable with, and whose views are not considered too extreme.

Editors and reporters, and many public officials have gotten away with this crass and cynical tactic because many whites regard blacks as so far outside the political and social pale of American society that they filter their view of blacks solely through the prism of a racial monolith. They are profoundly conditioned to believe that all blacks think and act alike. They freely use the words and deeds of the chosen black leader as the standard to judge how African-Americans behave. When the chosen one makes a real or contrived misstep, he becomes the hand-made whipping boy to publicly attack blacks.

Blacks are blamed for being rash, fool-hardy, irresponsible, and prone to eternally play the race card on every social ill that befall them. The furor over vote irregularities in Florida was a near textbook example of the danger of over-dependence on Jackson's leadership. Gore backers were scared stiff that Republicans would play hard on his status as the media-anointed leader of black America, to fuel white backlash, and divert public attention from the legitimate issue of voter fraud. The Republicans didn‚t play the race card with Jackson but many in the media did. CNN frothed that Jackson created a "mini-riot" and "fomented turbulence." The Washington Post railed that Jackson was "exciting racial passions." Bill O'Reilley (of FoxNews) whose antipathy toward Jackson is boundless, accused Jackson of inciting racial and "class warfare." MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, the Boston Globe, the Dallas Morning News, Newsday, and the Detroit News, gleefully took up the "Jackson-is-a-race-baiter" cry.

Many blacks rapturously embrace prominent figures such as Jackson as leaders for a simple reason. They have been tossed to the far flung margins of American politics and are desperate to find someone, anyone, who appears to speak boldly on their behalf. The susceptibility of many blacks to embrace this type of a populist-sounding leader has been the cause of profound pessimism about what and who a leader is and should be. This has caused many blacks to throw up their hands in disgust and brand black leaders, in some cases all black leaders, as corrupt, ineffective, selfish, and weak.

Jackson defenders insist that he will bounce back from the scandal and that he will be as effective as ever. But if by effectiveness they mean that he will once again resume his role as the exclusive voice of black protest and that blacks must look to him to galvanize them on racial issues then his fall will be their fall
Dr. Hutchinson, Los Angeles based executive editor of USAfricaonline.com and the author of The Disappearance of Black Leadership, is the President of the National Alliance for Positive www.natalliance.org. E-mail: ehutchi344@aol.com

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