Jackson Defends Affirmative Action

The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson denounced the term "angry white male" Saturday. urging members of the Harvard Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) to fight current attempts to repeal affirmative action.

"Angry white male--why is there no resentment of that term?" Jackson asked in his keynote address to the twelfth annual HBLSA spring conference in the Ropes-Gray Room of Pound Hall. "We can't dignify that term, or we justify their anger."

Jackson Blamed the "culture of violence" for last Wednesday's bombing in Oklahoma City and for other events in the country's history.

"These were angry white males whose anger had not been defused," he said.

"Angry white males burned down the church in Birmingham. An angry white male killed Dr. King," Jackson added.

Jackson defended affirmative action, saying that it should be used to 'offset negative action," such as discrimination.

"Review and renew, not renew and retreat," he said of President Clinton's review of affirmative action.

Jackson said, "White males know why they feel a sinking feeling. They know those jobs did not go to affirmative action."

The audience of Black law students and alumni interrupted Jackson with applause when he defended affirmative-action admission policies at the Law School.

"You might have come in on different standards.You all have to pass the same bar," Jackson said."Some of you got in on affirmative action. Some ofthem got in on grandfather clauses andinheritance."

Jackson urged the HBLSA members to rise abovesocietal expectations to establish "moralauthority."

"An oppressed people cannot be coequal indecadence with the oppressor and be the moralauthority," Jackson said.

"An oppressed people, born into disadvantage,must live and work above the cultural norm."

"We must be greater than the moral norm tosurvive," he said.

Jackson encouraged the students to care morefor their morals and spirit than for monetarygain.

"There is a character factor here. What makesyou different at the end of the day is not aHarvard degree--there are quite of few of them.You're not measured of excess beyond need."

"I never saw a U-Haul attached to a hearse,"Jackson said to the audience's laughter.

"We must fight back with our minds, our morals,our spirit, and our character," Jackson said. "Thevictims must rebuild the wall the oppressors toredown."

Jackson urged the audience to combat the "cycleof destruction" created by discrimination.

Jackson will deliver an address the issue ofaffirmative action at the Institute of Politicstonight at 6 p.m., to be followed by a responsefrom Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C.Mansfield Jr. '53. Attendance is expected to behigh, according to Avery W. Gardiner '97, a memberof the Institute of Politics Student AdvisoryCommittee.

"There's some concern that the building will befilled to capacity [over 500 people]," she said."Any time you put two speakers as diametricallyopposed as Jesse Jackson and Harvey C. Mansfieldtogether, sparks will fly.

"You might have come in on different standards.You all have to pass the same bar," Jackson said."Some of you got in on affirmative action. Some ofthem got in on grandfather clauses andinheritance."

Jackson urged the HBLSA members to rise abovesocietal expectations to establish "moralauthority."

"An oppressed people cannot be coequal indecadence with the oppressor and be the moralauthority," Jackson said.

"An oppressed people, born into disadvantage,must live and work above the cultural norm."

"We must be greater than the moral norm tosurvive," he said.

Jackson encouraged the students to care morefor their morals and spirit than for monetarygain.

"There is a character factor here. What makesyou different at the end of the day is not aHarvard degree--there are quite of few of them.You're not measured of excess beyond need."

"I never saw a U-Haul attached to a hearse,"Jackson said to the audience's laughter.

"We must fight back with our minds, our morals,our spirit, and our character," Jackson said. "Thevictims must rebuild the wall the oppressors toredown."

Jackson urged the audience to combat the "cycleof destruction" created by discrimination.

Jackson will deliver an address the issue ofaffirmative action at the Institute of Politicstonight at 6 p.m., to be followed by a responsefrom Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C.Mansfield Jr. '53. Attendance is expected to behigh, according to Avery W. Gardiner '97, a memberof the Institute of Politics Student AdvisoryCommittee.

"There's some concern that the building will befilled to capacity [over 500 people]," she said."Any time you put two speakers as diametricallyopposed as Jesse Jackson and Harvey C. Mansfieldtogether, sparks will fly.