Jesse Jackson talks to British MPs
By politics.co.uk staff
Reverend Jesse Jackson, infamous civil rights activist and the first African American ever to run for president of the United States, will speak to a committee of MPs about violent crime today.
The long-time campaigner will appear in front of the home affairs committee, chaired by Keith Vaz, and speak about his experience tackling gang crime on the other side of the Atlantic.
The visit to Westminster rounds off a week long trip in the UK for Rev Jackson, who met privately with Gordon Brown on Monday and delivered a speech about faith, politics and empowerment at a Berkshire church yesterday.
His last high-profile trip to the UK occurred in the build-up to the war in Iraq, when he opted to attend London’s massive anti-war protest, rather than one of the American ones.
At the time, the reverend reasoned that Tony Blair was the man with the most power to stop the run to war.
“Jesse Jackson is one of the foremost political figures of the last 40 years,” said Reading West MP Martin Salter, who invited the campaigner to his constituency.
“As a former assistant to Dr Martin Luther King, he was at the centre of the struggle for civil rights and political emancipation in the USA.”
The reverend now runs an organisation called the RainbowPUSH Coalition which he says is designed to inspire a new generation in the US.
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