The Reverend is applauded

“It’s Jesse freaking Jackson.”

These were the words of local resident John Shearer.

Rev. Jesse Jackson was the keynote speaker at the Buskirk-Chumley Theather in downtown Bloomington in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Shearer was four years old when Jackson ran for the Democratic Presidential candidacy in 1984, but he inherited Jackson’s campaign button from his aunt.

“I still have it and it is a constant reminder to me of where we have been, where we are and where we are going,” Shearer said.

Jackson began his speech with audience participation by repeating the words, “I am somebody, I am somebody ...”

His speech continued with topics relating to the bailout of Wall Street, health care reform, the globalized job market, Haiti’s recent earthquake and football.

Jackson said the playing field’s necessity to be even and keeping rules transparent does not just apply to football, but it should also apply the to banks wanting government subsidies.

Jackson spoke of a radical legal segregation of walls and behind the walls were ignorance, fear, hatred and violence.

“Texas and Alabama could not have played with these walls still present,” Jackson said referring to the Bowl Championship Series National Championship game Alabama won on Jan. 7.

Jackson said the recent earthquake in Haiti was not just a natural disaster, but more of a lack on infrastructure.

“If Afghanistan deserves that than why not an ally in our hemisphere?” Jackson said. “They’re an ally, not a threat.”

IU Senior Kirstin Champer said seeing Jackson speak was like watching live history. She said Jackson’s remarks on the globalized job market worried her since she is hoping to enter the public health field after graduating in May.

“The job market is bad and public health programs could be cut because many are nonprofit so I’m worried about jobs decreasing,” she said.

Shearer said he believes this generation’s struggle is health care.

“This is a time for us to rise together,” Jackson said. “3,200 Chicagoan blacks die a year from insufficient health care. It is like 9/11 every year in one city.”

Mayor Mark Kruzan delivered the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award to Liz Mitchell and told people that the $21,800 received from two grants to organize volunteer opportunities was an investment in the community.

Volunteers were asked to stand for recognizing the “A Day On! Not a Day Off” day of service.

Performances by Margaret Chun, Kaia and the IU African American Choral Ensemble brought strong applause.

After the celebration ended, audience members were asked to sign their name to pledge their support for 40 Days of Peace.

“I signed the pledge in remembrance for Dr. King’s dream of peace and justice,” local resident Fred McCall said. “Peace helps us move forward.”

Local resident Evelyn Stephenson said she had been wanting this day to come.

“He is the most dynamic speaker I’ve ever heard other than Barack Obama. There was never a dull moment,” Stephenson said. “I would come back everyday if I could.”