Jesse optimistic on S. African trade mission

Jesse optimistic on S. African trade mission

In a telephone call-in from Johannesburg, S.A. on his weekly radio broadcast at Dr. King's Workshop, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. said he hopes his trip will stimulate trade between Africa and African American businesses in a major way.

Leading a three-nation tour, where he was joined by his wife, Jacqueline, son, Jonathan, and a delegation of business persons from his Rainbow PUSH/Wall Street, LaSalle Street Trade Bureaus, Jackson said the trip is designed to stimulate trade between African American firms and Africa.

He's hoping to bridge the digital divide between the two continents.

Having visited Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa, Jackson said he has focused on debt relief, the devastating impact of AIDS on that continent where he's trying to mobilize world opinion on this issue, as well as business investment.

Jackson wants to engage in trade partnerships with African nations and their leaders. He's scheduled to return to Chicago Thursday.

Jackson told the audience while many will celebrate Valentine's Day, "this year, we'll have 2 million in jail of whom 55 percent are Black with more than half on non-violent drug charge. These laws are insane on one hand and very profitable on the other.

"We will not stop until we rescue our children and reclaim them and turn these jails into museums," he told a cheering audience.

Jackson said this Saturday at Dr. King Workshop, 930 E. 50th St., he's conducting a voter registration drive because it is the last Saturday for residents to register in order to vote in the March 21 primary.

He said South Africa "paid a big price for the right to vote and now they are voting. We paid a big price for the right to vote, and we're not voting."

Jackson also announced that Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer who was the subject of the movie "Hurricane," will join him Friday where he'll show the film to Cook County Jail inmates. Carter will also be at Dr. King's Workshop, 10 a.m., Saturday Feb. 19th as well.

Jackson, who recently appeared on WVON's Cliff Kelley show, said the theme of his trip is: "Connecting Telecommunications and Media Markets Through U.S. Minority and African Business Partnerships."

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Photo (Jesse Jackson Sr.)