Posted on 12/11/2001 11:44:45 AM PST by NewDestiny
Los Angeles - Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny (BOND) Founder and President Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson was assaulted by supporters of Rev. Jesse Jackson (head of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition) yesterday at a Los Angeles Trade Bureau Forum Meeting held at the L.A. Chamber of Commerce. The meeting between Jesse Jackson and Toyota Motor Sales officials was the unveiling of Toyota’s “21st Century Diversity Strategy”. Featured speakers were Jesse Jackson and Irv Miller, Toyota’s Vice-President For Corporate Communications. In attendance were upwards of two hundred black business owners and representatives.
Rev. Jesse Jackson stated in his opening remarks, “I have been on the ‘red squad list’ by [Attorney General John] Ashcroft and others, they’re after us… They’re using bin Laden as an excuse to come after us, we [U.S.] gave bin Laden 60 million, if we’re going to fight terrorists, we must also fight the Klan… Locking people out of economic opportunity is a form of economic terrorism,” said Jackson. Also, citing as an example of his organization’s efforts to help “disadvantaged” youth, Jackson announced that he has invited as his special guests to the Fourth Annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Awards Dinner to be held tonight in Beverly Hills, members of the “Decatur Seven,” the black students who were expelled for viciously attacking fellow students at a high school football game in Decatur, IL. Jackson had protested last year to have the thugs re-admitted. Jackson told the audience that minorities cannot make it with talent alone, prodding them to join his Trade Bureau or risk missing out on hundreds of millions in corporate dollars.
In the meeting it was also announced that Rainbow/PUSH member J.L. Armstrong was named Supplier Development Manager for Toyota Motor Sales, essentially making him the liaison between minority businesses owners and Toyota.
During the Q and A session, Rev. Peterson asked the Toyota official, “As the President of a nonprofit conservative organization, BOND, I’m concerned that our young people will be locked out of any training programs offered by Toyota because of our conservative beliefs. How are you going to make sure that organizations like ours are not discriminated against by Rainbow/PUSH and its members?” The crowd reacted with jeering as one man yelled at Rev. Peterson to sit down and keep quiet. Judge Greg Mathis, host of the T.V. show “Judge Mathis”, barked at Rev. Peterson, “You must be watching too much Bill O’Reilly.” The Co-Chair of the event, Carl Dickerson (President of Employee Benefits) and others began personally attacking Rev. Peterson by calling him “stupid”. Some in the audience could be heard asking, “What are you doing, why are you saying this?” It was obvious Jackson and most of the crowd didn’t want Rev. Peterson’s comments to be heard by the Toyota officials.
After several heated verbal exchanges between Rev. Peterson and Rainbow/PUSH officials, Jesse Jackson jumped in the fray by calling Rev. Peterson and other black conservatives “parasites, who show up after someone else shakes the fruit off the trees.” What followed could only be described as “fireworks” as Rev. Peterson laid into Jackson for his snide personal attack; the two were sitting five feet from each other, separated only by a large conference table. It seemed as though the whole room went silent as people were shocked that Jesse Jackson was silenced in front of his own supporters.
A security guard soon entered in an apparent attempt to remove Rev. Peterson, but he refused to leave. At this point Jonathan Jackson (Jesse’s son) and two other Jackson supporters positioned themselves across from Rev. Peterson and glared at him for the remainder of the meeting. At the meeting’s conclusion, Jonathan Jackson attempted to block Rev. Peterson and a BOND representative as they moved through a walkway. Rev. Peterson made his way past the younger Jackson despite this. When Rev. Peterson and the BOND representative moved to exit the room, Jonathan Jackson and several other men crossed the room and Jackson shoved Rev. Peterson. Meanwhile, a mob of people including Jesse Jackson circled Rev. Peterson, Jackson telling the men to “Get his a** out of here.” Judge Greg Mathis and others surrounded Rev. Peterson, screaming and yelling at him for several minutes to “leave before you get your a** kicked.” Rev. Peterson eventually left of his own will.
Rev. Peterson said, “The meeting reminded me of Ku Klux Klan meetings that I used to see in movies as a kid, except today the participants were black thugs dressed in suits.” BOND is sponsoring the “Third Annual National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson” on January 21, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA. For more information contact Ermias Alemayehu at (323) 782-1980 / bond@bondinfo.org.
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is the author of the widely-acclaimed book From Rage To Responsibility.
President of Employee Benefits at Toyota or PUSH???
This guy continues to give humans a bad name.
Well, at least Jesse is now refering to his dealings with Toyota as what they truly are, a shakedown. Extortion is another word.
I love it!
You mean to tell me that these fine folks were inciting violence against someone because of their ideas? This can't be true, liberals and democrats are very nice people who want there to be peace in the world and harbor a mutual loving respect for those with diverse opinions, skin color, ethnicity, etc. Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya...
(/sarcasm) PAAAAAAALLLLLLEEZZZZZZZEEEEEEE! I wish Rev. Peterson would have jacked Jesse and his punk boy son right in the head. May have knocked some sense into their sorry a$$.
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