Pride and Prejudice

For better or worse, Jackson brings race to the forefront of the campaign

There is the Jesse Jackson that blacks revere. He is the embodiment of black pride, an incandescent force glowing beside dull white politicians, demanding respect and "our fair share." He is the powerbroker who is ignored or patronized at great risk.

There is the Jesse Jackson that many whites distrust and some even fear. He is the former black radical, the civil rights leader who threatened white businessmen with economic boycotts, the presidential candidate who called Jews "Hymie" and New York City " Hymietown." In his shadow, neither embraced nor disavowed, stands Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, a Black Muslim sect, who has praised Hitler and seemed to threaten a black reporter with death.

In recent weeks, these conflicting perceptions of Jesse Jackson have come to overshadow his remarkable achievements in the Democratic primaries. Almost overnight, he shattered the prevailing wisdom that a black could not make a credible run for the presidency. He has spurred an unprecedented black voter turnout, outlasted five more politically experienced white rivals, and picked up enough delegates and prestige to play a major role at the Democratic Convention in July. Says former Democratic National Committee Chairman Robert Strauss: "Jesse Jackson has had a larger impact on American politics than either he or anyone else anticipated." But as his successes multiplied, so did concerns about his candidacy. Would he raise the arm of the Democratic nominee in San Francisco, or stalk angrily from the convention hall? Would he bring out the black vote for Democrats in November, or sit sulking on the sidelines? Would his efforts lead to black political power or white backlash?

The Jackson campaign, unavoidably, has brought questions of race back to the forefront of American politics. The candidate himself has not used race in a demagogic way, as George Wallace did in 1968. Indeed, Jackson has tried to add other colors to his Rainbow Coalition. But the electorate is polarized nevertheless, with blacks voting overwhelmingly for Jackson and whites voting overwhelmingly for white candidates. "A certain latent racism has come out," says Gary Willis, Henry Luce Professor of American Culture and Public Policy at Northwestern University. "People say, 'Whenever I hear somebody stir up crowds, I think of Hitler.' That kind of comment shows a blindness to black style, and it's most often said by people who've never heard a black church service."

Jackson's appeals to black pride, almost by definition, are racially charged. In effect, he is asking blacks to vote for him because he is black. The white majority would quickly condemn a white candidate who practiced such overt racial politics. But with blacks, the situation is far more delicate. Sensitive to the victimization of blacks throughout American history, whites tend to be reticent about criticizing them, especially on racial matters.