The Rev. Jesse Jackson launched a petition drive Friday to collect one million signatures supporting extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which he said will be in jeopardy when it comes up for review in 2007. "We've had to fight all along the way for protection and enforcement" of the act, Jackson said. "We've not yet reached the voter protection system afforded to Iraqis." His announcement of the petition came as commemorative events were scheduled for the 40th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, which inspired Congress to enact the law. Jackson is pushing now for the renewal of the act, he said, because he feels President Bush and Republican leaders are fighting for democracy in Iraq while undermining the right to vote and suppressing minority voters in the United States. In his syndicated column and again in Friday's telephone news conference, Jackson was critical of the president's response when asked in a Jan. 27 meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus if he supported the extension of the Voting Rights Act. The question was asked by his son, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Illinois. Bush reportedly responded that he would have to look over the act before taking a stance on the issue. The elder Jackson said he interpreted that to mean Bush was passive toward voting rights. "They want to water down the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They want to weaken it," he said. Jackson said his campaign would begin collecting signatures in Selma and continue until August, which marks the 40th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the act. [more]
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