CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new leader is taking over Rev. Jesse Jackson's civil rights group he founded over 50 years ago.
Jackson introduced Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes, of Dallas, as the new president of the Rainbow Push Coalition.
Haynes said he's honored to be “standing on the shoulders” of Jackson.
“You cannot write the history of the world without speaking of the contributions of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr,” Haynes said. “So, when I say I'm standing on his shoulders, it's because I have too much sense to stand in his shoes.”
He said the work of Rainbow Push is just as relevant now as when the organization was founded in 1971.
“Sadly, the Supreme Court has declared war on justice and freedom with the recent decisions, and as Rev. Jackson has already said, the Supreme Court, therefore, has given us an agenda,” Haynes said.
First on Haynes’ agenda: Registering voters, which continues a historic voter registration campaign Jackson led in the 1980s.
“The agenda will basically be that we recognize the importance of the courts, so we have to have a ground game of registering, educating voters, [and] mobilizing voters to the polls,” he added.
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