News
(Video courtesy University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries)
VIDEO: Rev. Jesse Jackson Giving Speech At OU To Follow In Footsteps Of LBJ
By: Cheri Russo
Posted on:
The Reverend Jesse Jackson is speaking at Ohio University on Monday where he will ask the White House to create a commission on poverty.
Jackson Adviser George Korn, who also works at Ohio University, says Jackson will hold an 11 a.m. news conference on the portico of Memorial Auditorim. That's the same place that Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his May 7, 1964 address on the "Great Society."
"It is time to rekindle the spirit of LBJ and again envision a Great Society, where government takes the lead in addressing issues of fairness, opportunity, equality and economic justice," says Korn.
"We need a White House Commission on poverty, malnutrition and human need," says Korn. "Only the president has the platform to ignite this debate and Congress has the moral burden to close ranks behind his leadership and lift millions out of the sinking sand of poverty."
The War on Poverty came out of the "Great Society" idea and programs such as Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid began.
Korn says Jackson will challenge students and citizens to heed Johnson's call to action.
"The new poverty statistics tell the story: one in six Americans lives in poverty, more than 46 million, the highest number since the government began keeping track. Poverty is rising across all races and all regions," says Korn.
Jackson will deliver a speech at noon in Baker University Center ballroom.