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The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to community members at Beulah Grove Baptist Church's community center.
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The Rev. Jesse Jackson today will be in Greenville County, S.C., where he will speak against the county's decision not to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a holiday.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson urged Augusta National Golf Club on Monday to admit women before protests come to the Masters Tournament.
"I hope a lot of people come together to come to a resolution," the Rev. Jackson said during a stop in Augusta. "If not, there'll be a lot of people here."
The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is unsure about any definite plans to protest the club's lack of women in its membership, a spokeswoman said. The Rev. Jackson said, however, that people were mobilizing in preparation for demonstrations.
He told The Augusta Chronicle that even though private clubs separated on gender lines, such as sororities and fraternities, do exist, the Augusta National should admit women because it is a private club that will put on the Masters Tournament using publicly paid police officers and other resources.
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The Rev. Jackson walks on crutches because of a fall he took Sunday that broke his ankle.
CHRIS THELEN/STAFF |
"The principle is so much bigger than the argument," the Rev. Jackson said. The issue of equality for women goes beyond the National and Chairman Hootie Johnson, he said.
Keeping the policy would make Augusta "the last bastion of gender apartheid," he said.
He said it was not the responsibility of the golfers - but instead organizations and businesses such as like the PGA and CBS - to speak against the Augusta National's membership.
"Is The New York Times, in all of its righteousness, right to tell Tiger to do Hootie's job?" he said.
The Rev. Jackson also criticized Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength for saying he would not allow protesters on Washington Road, where the club is located.
The Rev. Jackson addressed poverty issues earlier Monday during a visit to the Beulah Grove Baptist Church community center. He appeared on crutches after a fall Sunday that broke his ankle.
He also spoke Monday night to a rally at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Edgefield, S.C., before heading to Greenville, S.C., where he said he will speak against that county's failure to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Reach Jeremy Craig at (706) 823-3409 or at jeremy.craig@augustachronicle.com.
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