On Sunday, March 8, Bernie Sanders held a packed political rally at Calder Plaza, during which famed civil rights activist Jesse Jackson endorsed Sanders’s candidacy for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
After the indie Michigan band “Michigander” and several other speakers warmed up the large crowd, Sanders got on stage to introduce Jackson himself.
Sanders praised Jackson’s accomplishments as a civil rights leader, for his work in combating racism and segregation and his establishment of the National Rainbow Coalition. Sanders described him as a historic and transformative member of American politics, calling him the first major African-American presidential candidate, a hero, and a friend. Jackson ran two historic campaigns in an attempt to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination back in 1984 and 1988, Sanders endorsed him in both of those campaigns, going against the grain of popularity to do so.
After Sanders welcomed him to the stage, Jackson gave a short speech explaining his choice to support the Sanders campaign. Jackson talked about the struggle, the blood shed and the lives that have been lost in the fight for civil rights and the need to not let those who have sacrificed so much down as that fight is continued. He emphasized the need for people to stand together, fight, and vote.
“We are the people. I stand with Bernie Sanders today because he stood with me,” said Jackson. “I stand with him because he’s never lost his taste for justice for the people. I stand with him because he stands with you.”
Jackson also spoke on key issues that are a part of his support of Sanders, including the revival of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the closing of the wealth gap through heavier taxation of the wealthy, making them pay “their fair share of taxes.” He also emphasized the need for universal healthcare and universal access to education. He ended his speech with a back and forth chant with the audience encouraging them to keep hope alive, to recognize their own importance, to recognize that they matter, to never surrender and to vote.
“Bernie Sanders can win, will win, must win. When Bernie wins, healthcare wins,” were Jackson’s last words before leaving the podium.
Sanders immediately thanked Jackson for his endorsement.
“It is one of the honors of my life to be supported by a man who has put his life on the line for the last 50 years fighting for justice,” said Sanders.
Sanders then talked about his desire to use the presidency to bring an end to racial wealth inequality, discrimination, combat voter suppression and reform the criminal justice system, including eliminating cash bonds, legalizing marijuana and ending the disastrous war on drugs.
Sanders also made claims regarding education, including promising to increase the income of public schools and the salaries of teachers, provide universal childcare, make all public universities and colleges tuition-free and cancel all student debt if he is made president.
“If the right-wing can bail out the crooks on Wall Street, we can cancel all student debt in America,” said Sanders, in reference to the bank bailouts of 2008.
Sanders’s presidential promises also included raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour and making it easier for workers to join unions and harder for employers to stop unions.
One of the bigger promises made by Sanders during the rally was the creation of universal healthcare in America through the extension of medicare. Medicare for All has been at the center of Sanders’s campaign since its inception.
“We will not continue a cruel and dysfunctional system in which we spend twice as much as the people in other countries and yet 87 million of us are uninsured or underinsured,” said Sanders. “At least 30 thousand die each year because they don’t get to a doctor when they should. At least 500 thousand people in America go bankrupt because they’re struggling with cancer or heart disease or Alzheimer’s. What kind of system bankrupts people because they’re fighting for their lives against a terrible disease? We’re gonna end that healthcare system, we’re gonna move to Medicare for All.”
During the rally Sanders also attacked President Donald Trump, calling him a pathological liar and labeling him a white nationalist, a sexist, a racist and a homophobe, among other things. Both Sanders and several other of the event’s speakers heavily criticized Trump for his lack of response to climate change, emphasizing the millions of lives it will kill and how it will negatively affect everyone. Sanders promised that he will have a presidential administration that believes in science and that he will work to address climate change through the Green New Deal.
Joe Biden, Sanders’s current opponent in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, also received some criticism during the event. Both Sanders and other speakers criticized Biden for his voting history. In particular, Biden was criticized for his vote in support of the NAFTA trade deal and his vote in support of the war with Iraq, both things Sanders always opposed.
Sanders also restated his commitment to Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. Promising to increase funding to Planned Parenthood, only nominating judges to the Supreme Court who support Roe v. Wade’s decision, and working to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
Sanders’s slogan “not me, us,” was repeated numerous times by multiple speakers throughout the event and Sanders ended the rally by expanding on this thought. He said his campaign is about more than just a presidential election, it’s about creating a movement in the government and in society that will be necessary to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished, emphasizing the need for the American people to come together to fight the corruption and greed of the 1%.
“Campaigns like this are not about me, it’s about us, it’s about understanding that we are more human, we are better human beings when we care for each other, when we don’t turn our backs on human suffering,” said Sanders. “We are in it together. My family has got to care about your family, your family has got to care about my family, that’s how we improve life for all of us.”
