Jesse Jackson in North Portland: One thing worse than oppression is to adjust it

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Cornelius Swart, GoLocal PDX Director of Content

Rev. Jesse Jackson said he supported a federal investigation into police procedures during the shooting death of Michael Brown

The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke in front of a North Portland church Sunday morning after demonstrations for police accountability in downtown turned ugly Saturday night.

The reverend was delivering a sermon at the Emmanuel Temple Church in North Portland about the shooting death of Ferguson teen Michael Brown. He described the events surrounding Brown's death and subsequent riots, and the exoneration of police officer Darren Wilson as part of a time of “darkness” and “evil days” for the modern civil rights movement.

“One thing worse than oppression is to adjust it,” Jackson said. “In deep waters, you drown if you stop kicking.”

Before introducing Jackson, Bishop C.T. Wells, head of Emmanuel Temple Church, said what's happening in Ferguson reflected on the whole country.

“I weep for America. I am witnessing its demise,” he said.

Jackson had spoken at a demonstration at the Portland Justice Center for slain black teen Michael Brown, the night before. After Jackson’s speech, demonstrators marched through downtown. A handful clashed with police, who used "flash bang" grenades to disburse the group. Ten were arrested and seven booked into Multnomah County Jail, according to police.

Jackson said he upholds the principles of nonviolent protesting and that violent demonstrations distract from the goals of civil rights.

“I urge them [protestors] to use restraint,” Jackson told GoLocalPDX after his sermon. “[Violent clashes] allow people to identify with the police, and not the cause.”

Jackson said the exoneration of Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed Brown on Aug. 9, and the unrest in Ferguson that has followed was deeply disturbing.

“We look at the stain and impact of racism in Ferguson and it’s rotting the confidence in the judicial system,” Jackson said. “When people feel helpless they lash out. The shooting took place before the looting.”

Several hundred parishioners at Emanuel Temple Church gathered Sunday morning to hear a sermon from the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

That said, Jackson urged parishioners not to accept what he sees as racial injustice in the Brown case, and the cases of other black citizens shot and killed by police violence.

In later comments Jackson took pains not to blame the police as an institution. He said that three Portland officers that posted images to Facebooks of a badge with the banner “I am Darren Wilson” stretched across it should not be chastised.

“They were trying to protect the integrity of the police department,” Jackson said. “People can understand that that was a gesture. We need honorable police.”

Jackson said he supported a federal investigation into police procedures in the Ferguson case, and the convening of a federal grand jury.

The reverend went on to Seattle Sunday to address a group of leaders in the tech industry as part of a campaign to end racial bias in the U.S. technology sector.

Photos by Cornelius Swart