Jesse Jackson's Empire Crumbling, Associates Say

CNSNews.com) - Just days before the opening of Jesse Jackson's annual Wall Street Project Conference in New York City, long-time friends, former business associates and Wall Street observers say Jackson's financial empire appears to be headed for collapse.

Dogged by a loss of political clout, personal scandal and concerns by some Wall Street professionals that Jackson has come across as "anti-American" following the Sept. 11 attacks, the civil rights activist's influence is diminishing in the eyes of more people in the business and civil rights community.

The Decline of the Jackson Empire

Jackson's empire has shrunk from more than 100 employees at the beginning of 2001 to fewer than 50 in 2002, according to one of Jackson's former business associates, who asked not to be identified.

Nizam Arain, spokesman for Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH coalition in Chicago, confirmed the wave of recent layoffs. "I know that that's been going on. I can't confirm the numbers," Arain told CNSNews.com .

When asked who might be able to give an accurate accounting of Jackson's employee base, Arain said, "At this point, I don't think that anyone short of Rev. Jackson himself would be prepared to give you an authoritative comment on that."

Jackson was not available for comment, however.

The latest round of employee downsizing at Jackson's three principle organizations -- Rainbow/PUSH, the Wall Street Project and Citizenship Education Fund -- happened in December, shortly after Jackson's star-studded birthday party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, an event hosted by Barbra Streisand.

According to sources close to Jackson, the fundraiser did not meet expectations and Jackson laid off an additional 17 employees in December. "He's basically washed up," said a Wall Street banker who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions from Jackson.

"His money is drying up, the Wall Street Project is tanking. He is reeling," the banker said.

One reason for the decline of Jackson's enterprises is that after the 2000 election, Jackson lost many of his Washington allies, according to a former Jackson associate.

The associate told CNSNews.com that Jackson "lost his cover" in 2001 with the departure of former President Bill Clinton and other Clinton administration officials. "He doesn't have Janet Reno to block any federal investigations anymore," the associate explained.

David Wallace, a Christian minister who attended Chicago Theological Seminary with Jackson in the 1960s, said he is not surprised Jackson is in financial difficulty.

Wallace, one of the founding members of Rainbow/PUSH in the 1970s, said he last saw Jackson at his Chicago office last October and he was not upbeat, saying Jackson "did comment to me that 'this year has been a rough year.'"

Wall Street Questioning Jackson's Patriotism

Adding to Jackson's woes is next week's 5th Annual Wall Street Project Conference in New York, which is not being greeted with much enthusiasm at the New York Stock Exchange, according to Jackson's former associate.

The program is designed to promote minority participation in corporate America, with this year's conference being held from January 15-18.

According to Jackson's former associate, the NYSE currently contributes $400,000 annually to the Wall Street Project, which features a fundraiser on the floor of the stock exchange.

All expenses for the event are paid for by the stock exchange, including the tab for drinks and live music, featuring rapper Sean "P Diddy" Combs and Jackson's daughter, singer Santita Jackson.

But sources say Jackson has angered some executives on Wall Street with his comments about the U.S. government's response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Members of the New York Stock Exchange are appalled and can't understand why [Exchange Chairman] Dick Grasso is kowtowing to someone they view as anti-American," said the Wall Street banker.

Jackson has decried the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan and called Attorney General John Ashcroft a terrorist "suspect [because] he threatens democracy."

Jackson has also claimed, "Too many have been intimidated by flag wearing and flag waving."

He shared the stage with then Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell at the Black World Conference in Atlanta last November when Campbell said to a receptive audience, "While the rest of the country waves the flag of Americana, we understand we are not part of that."

Raising additional questions about Jackson's patriotism are passages in the soon-to-be released book, "Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson," by Kenneth Timmerman.

The book examines 30 years of Jackson's political activities, and Timmerman reports that Jackson has displayed an aversion to the American flag.

At a rally in Chicago just four days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Timmerman argued that Jackson was less than patriotic.

"When the entire country is in a state of grief and patriotic resurgence, he wasn't flying [the flag] at his home. It wasn't on his car, it wasn't on his lapel, it wasn't on stage behind him," Timmerman told CNSNews.com . "In front of the cameras, there wasn't visible a flag in the whole place. There was no sense or expression of either mourning of grief or even of sympathy for the victims of September 11th."

According to Jackson's former business associate, Jackson's stance on the war on terrorism has made Wall Street jittery ahead of next week's conference.

"Jackson is going to go in and talk about not waving the flag? In all of America you can't exceed the patriotism that exists on the trading floors and in the New York Stock Exchange. The terrorist attacks happened in their neighborhood," the former Jackson
associate said.

"Having him host an event on Wall Street amounts to money from the stock exchange being used to subsidize sedition."

'Shakedown' on Wall Street?

Timmerman's book details Jackson's financial empire and reaches unflattering conclusions. "There are no benefits that accrue [for corporations] in being part of Jackson's efforts," Timmerman said.

Referring to next week's Wall Street Project, Timmerman said, "This is the 5th year he has done this project, which has no other purpose but to shakedown major Wall Street corporations," a sentiment that has been shared by others in the business arena.

"The fact that corporations are making major contributions to Jackson, raises fiduciary questions about their responsibility to their shareholders," Timmerman added.

Jackson's long-time friend David Wallace stopped short of labeling Jackson's dealings a "shakedown", but did question why his friend of more than 30 years has not been more closely scrutinized. "I think it is interesting that he has not been audited by the IRS," said Wallace. "Jesse is not above the law."

Author and former 60s radical David Horowitz has also raised criticism of Jackson's business tactics.

"It's basically cry racism and shake the money tree, " Horowitz told CNSNews.com .

Horowitz, author of the book, "Hating Whitey," a critique of the civil rights establishment, called Jackson's fund-raising methods "unarmed robbery."

A spokesman for Jackson's Wall Street Project was unavailable for comment, but spokeswoman Keiana Peyton of Rainbow/PUSH earlier told CNSNews.com that she suspects political opponents of Jackson want to undermine his legacy.

"Because he has been extremely vocal and an instrumental voice on several civil rights and social justice issues, perhaps they are looking for means to discredit him, " said Peyton.

According to Peyton, Jackson's political efforts have "opened the market and evened the playing field for persons who have historically been locked out of this access to business and capital."

Black Churches Shutting Out Jackson?

Financial woes and suspicions among some in corporate America are not the only problems dogging Jackson.

As a long time liberal advocate, Jackson has earned his political detractors. But his influence among those he seeks to represent is also in decline.

Jackson has been considered by many to be the nation's preeminent spokesman for black America, but his sway has been waning in recent years, in part because of personal scandal.

Rev. Al Sharpton, currently seeking to replace Jackson as America's top civil rights leader, recently told columnist George Will that Jackson's extra-marital affair with an employee, which produced a child, ended Jackson's unlimited access to black churches.

Wallace agreed, noting that Jackson's actions were "an embarrassment to his congregation."

"The extra-marital affair and baby forfeited Jackson's moral leadership," Wallace said. "That is not the behavior of a Christian minister."

No doubt ol' Jesse has been wounded but his little extortion racket is still going strong.

Big business is still his primary target when the funds run low in any of his multi-layered foundations. Jesse has a steady income from that alone. And that's not to mention the federal money he manages to siphon off under various guises or organizations.

Don't write his obituary so fast.

Unfortunately he's still alive and kicking. Ready for a new day and a new idea of making corporate America pay for his disadvantage in being black.

This guy is a one man traveling show that has his act down pat. Feet first is the only way he's going down.

Wallace agreed, noting that Jackson's actions were "an embarrassment to his congregation."

Have I missed something here? Don't you have to have a church in order to have a congegation? Just where is his church located?

Incredibly amusing. For the first time in his life (with the exception of the babe incident), Mr. Jackson hasn't got a comment to make.

He must of lost his little book of rhymes. He will run out to Barnes & Noble and get another and then make a "statement."

Rev. Al Sharpton, currently seeking to replace Jackson as America's top civil rights leader,...

That would be SWEET. With all the tons of racist, hate-mongering verbiage already on the record, Sharpton's "leadership" of the "civil rights" movement may be enough to destroy it once and for all.

""He's basically washed up," said a Wall Street banker who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions from Jackson. "His money is drying up, the Wall Street Project is tanking. He is reeling," the banker said.

Ah, music to my eyes this morning...

"The extra-marital affair and baby forfeited Jackson's moral leadership," Wallace said. "That is not the behavior of a Christian minister."

It wasn't mentioned until the end of the article, but the shamelessness of Jackson's behavior both during and after this affair really damaged him. He paraded this mistress around the Clinton White House during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, paid her off in a highly questionable manner which angered other employees and dried up contributions and once he was found out, did a mea culpa which lasted all of 3 days and consisted of buying his wife a Cadillac and sending her to Europe, before he was out in the limelight again shaking down people.

His colleagues turned somersaults every which way to defend his behavior, and no one did it successfully.

Another nail in his coffin were his actions in defending those teenage punk thugs in Decatur, IL. Jackson did everything to wield his power and influence in getting those thugs out of trouble, but the city officials did not kowtow to him. They told him, in no uncertain terms, to stay out of their business and eventually, Jackson and his rent-a-mob had to skulk away in the dark of night.

Even Mary McCrory, in her latest mostly incoherent screed, acknowledged that Jackson and Sharpton are competing to be the "leader of blacks". She was lamenting the Cornel West / Lawrence Summers controversy at Harvard and the black / white shenanigans in NYC between the Andy Cuomo and Carl McCall camps, and she said that it is no wonder that Republicans are not anxious to have blacks as a "constituency".

McCrory even mocked both Jackson and Sharpton, explaining that their respective claims to fame amounted to fraud, with Jackson smeering himself with ketchup and jumping before TV cameras to claim he had held a mortally wounded Bobby Kennedy, and Sharpton perpetrating most of the Tawana Brawley hoax.

We can only hope Sharpton takes over completely, LOL.

In 10 years, some bum needs to be fighting Jesse Jackson for a washing machine box in an alley.

I don't think I would go THAT far.
I don't wish homelessness on anyone.
I'd be willing to provide him a modest (9 x 9) home, at public expense.
... if you know what I mean...

I expect Jackson is planning his comeback or at least a spirited defense. Look for the media to help him out with some free publicity. I notice that he was on Maher's show last night. Pre-emptive appearance to build himself up prior to the release of this new book, I think. I'm looking for him to stage something to try to hand off his little empire to his kids.

Jackson and his rent-a-mob had to skulk away ...[from] Decatur, IL

True enough, but that was a message not generally heard from the media.

Decatur motel and restaurant operators "fortunate" enough to see JJ's mob appear on their doorsteps uniformly were bitten and pinched for the mob's stay and eats wherever they went. It was ugly, and the foul mouth "Reverend" Jackson used to extort these contributions to the cause solidified the perception of his hole group as racist, consummate losers.

Mind you, Decatur has a large percentage of black population, people who've been largely ignored by the liberal hate-mongers from the "blue areas."

Jackson "lost his cover" in 2001 with the departure of former President Bill Clinton and other Clinton administration officials. "He doesn't have Janet Reno to block any federal investigations anymore,"

Yet with all the questions that Bill O'Reilly raised these past few years, there is not an investigation from the Justice Department nor the IRS. Just shameful.

When Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH tried to shake down NIKE several years ago, NIKE President Phil Knight basically told to "pound sand". Operation PUSH left Portland a few days later, never to be heard from again. Best course of action when being extorted by Jackson is to go public and state your case as to why you will not allow Jackson to extort your company's shareholders and customers.

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