Black Conservatives Repudiate Jesse Jackson at MLK Day Rally
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
January 19, 2004 11:25AM EST

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
January 19, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - African-Americans who oppose the liberal black agenda are organizing what they call a "National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson" in Los Angeles on Monday.

Members of Project 21 said the rally, now in its fifth year, would take place outside of Jackson's Los Angeles offices.

"This annual repudiation of Jackson's activities and his right to be considered a reliable representative of the thoughts and aspirations of black Americans...is timed to coincide with the federal observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," Project 21 said in a press release.

The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, a group founded and led by Project 21 member Jesse Lee Peterson, is organizing the rally.

The Rev. Peterson said the rally is intended to "show the contrast between Dr. King's dream and Jesse Jackson's nightmare."

The rally is having the intended effect, organizers say. As B.O.N.D. noted on its website, "Jesse Jackson has suffered a significant loss of prestige since B.O.N.D. launched its inaugural repudiation event in January of 2000 ."

Among other things, black conservatives such as Peterson say they resent Jesse Jackson's "corporate shakedowns that benefit his own political groups," his adulterous behavior, and his criticism of the war on terrorism.

Peterson, in fact, is suing Jesse Jackson and some of Jackson's aides. The lawsuit alleges that Jackson and others "surrounded and assaulted" Rev. Peterson during a public meeting in December 2001. Peterson said oral arguments in the case would begin on Feb. 26.

Project 21 is an African-American leadership network that often opposes the liberal agenda of the leading civil rights organizations. B.O.N.D. describes itself as a national, nonprofit religious organization dedicated to "rebuilding the family by rebuilding the man."

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