OPINION & EDITORIAL
The Rev. Jesse Jackson: Working for Himself
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Also by Matt Modell:
- Taking responsibility for your decisions (April 24, 2003)
- An honorable and just battle (November 20, 2003)
- Ethical behavior should be encouraged at universities (December 10, 2003)
- Fixing the problems of ASM (November 25, 2003)
- The key word is 'illegal' (December 4, 2003)
Related Stories:
- Hold the pepper (October 26, 2006)
- Police mistreat innocent residents (November 3, 2005)
- Zoot Suit Riot (November 2, 2004)
- For Halloween festival, end justifies the means in city's eyes (November 1, 2005)
- Unprovoked (October 31, 2005)
by Matt Modell
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
A stampede early Monday morning at the E2 nightclub killed 21 people and injured at least 50 others, a tragedy that touched all of Chicago and the country.
Apparently a fight broke out on one of the dance floors, and security used pepper spray to break it up. When the crowd saw the spray, it panicked and fled to the exits, only to find them locked. The crowd was so large that people were climbing on top of each other and those on the bottom were crushed.
Within hours of the incident, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was on the scene defending the club owners. Yes, I said the club owners — one the son of one of Chicago’s most prominent black families and the other an entrepreneur who served prison time for voluntary manslaughter.
While I have frequently disagreed with both his approach and message, no doubt he has had some success helping African-Americans.
This is why the tragedy this past week in Chicago is so troubling. Twenty-one people died — most, if not all, of them were black. Over 50 people were injured and again, most, if not all, of those injured were black.
If the owner of this club were a white man, Mr. Jackson would be on a tirade, calling for him to be jailed and held responsible for this tragedy. The owner is not white though, and in fact, it has been revealed that the owner is a longtime family friend of Mr. Jackson’s. Thus Mr. Jackson has decided what is best for him is to protect the club owners, even if that means he has to abandon every principle he has claimed to stand up for in the past.
This was not the club’s first problem with overcrowding, nor is it the first time Mr. Jackson has tried to help the owners. In fact, the club had been ordered by the city to shut down because of suspected drug dealing and unruly behavior, as well as a result of shootings that had taken place outside of the club.
Just weeks before this incident, community activist Derrick Mosley wrote a letter to the owners of the club, letting them know he had received several complaints about crowd size and the safety of the club.
Jackson and others had previously gone to the police department, requesting security for the club, but were denied because the police department does not provide private security.
The second floor was ordered closed seven months prior to this tragedy because of numerous and extensive fire code and safety violations — the owners ignored this order. On subsequent visits, the building inspectors found the violations had not been fixed.
The police superintendent also estimates that the department had responded to 80 calls at or near the club in the past three years. The restaurant on the first floor was even ticketed once for ignoring a five-day shutdown order.
Mr. Jackson claims that it was the city’s fault and the police department’s fault for not being more proactive in making sure the owners followed the court order.
What? Is it the city’s fault because they didn’t make sure the club owners followed a direct order from the court?
Mayor Richard M. Daley responding to Mr. Jackson’s claim that the owners are not culpable:
“When a court issues an order against you, it is your responsibility to follow that order. You don’t have the right to disobey that order until someone catches you or until a disaster happens, as it did Monday morning.”
Mr. Daley is right, and Mr. Jackson knows this is true. Mr. Jackson is trying to exploit his power and fame to save the butt of a friend who was intent on breaking the law for profit and whose unsafe establishment cost at least 21 people their lives.
This is not the work a civil rights leader should be doing, but then again, Mr. Jackson has chosen his personal interests over principle for years now. Why should we be surprised by his latest actions?
Matt Modell (mmodell@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science.
