Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. thinks that America is “at a crossroads in terms of thought and political ideology.”
This is the moment in which the conservative movement can win many converts from the black community. In order to accomplish this, conservatives must understand the real concerns of the average African American.
According to Jackson, who launched his “Black Contract with America on Moral Values” last year, the “real concerns of the average African American” are topped with banning same-sex marriage and rejecting “tax-and-spend policies directed at the poor.”
Since joining forces with the far Right – including membership in the influential Arlington Group – Jackson has been a frequent spokesman for right-wing causes. He spoke at the “Justice Sunday: Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith” religious rally in support of Bush’s extreme judicial nominees, and told the television audience at “Justice Sunday II” that “You and I can bring the rule and reign of the Cross to America.” He’s scheduled to speak at the Family Research Council’s “Values Voter Summit” later this month.
Gays in particular seem to motivate Jackson’s political efforts. In an article in Charisma magazine, Jackson wrote that the “wisdom behind” the “gay agenda” is “clearly satanic,” and he called for an aggressive “counterattack.” He asserted to The New York Times that “Historically when societies have gone off kilter, there has been rampant same-sex marriage.”
Jackson writes that in 2004, he “decided to make a difference by calling on black Christians to vote for George Bush because his morality, governing approach, and conservative values most aligned with theirs.”
The large number of blacks who crossed the color line of the Democratic Party and voted for President Bush showed that dramatic changes were happening.
In fact, only 11 percent of African Americans voted for Bush in 2004, and one year afterwards the president’s approval rating among blacks dropped to 2 percent, suggesting that blacks have yet to embrace the “economic and social values” of the far Right.
