Emotional Speech Steals Show : Crusade to Continue, Jackson Vows to Party

“As a testament to the struggles of those who have gone before, as a legacy for those who will come after, as a tribute to the endurance, the patience, the courage of our forefathers and mothers,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson declared Tuesday that his crusade for social justice will continue.

And it is in that spirit, Jackson said, that his name will be placed before the Democratic National Convention in nomination for the presidency of the United States.

The address, a triumphant coda to a historic campaign, was delivered to a hall so crowded the fire marshals kept hundreds more locked out. A sea of delegates carrying red-and-blue “Jesse!” signs filled every available space on the convention floor.

In fact, placards for Michael S. Dukakis were tucked under chairs, as his delegates stood aside to allow Jackson’s supporters to celebrate their own night. Even the delegation from Dukakis’ own state of Massachusetts waved Jackson banners.

Jackson claimed victory for what he had accomplished already, but set his sights on further triumphs in November and beyond.

And, throughout, the former civil rights leader cast himself in the role of successor to civil rights pioneers like Rosa Parks, whom he brought with him to the convention podium.

He spoke of Fannie Lou Hamer, a black delegate from Mississippi locked out of the convention in Atlantic City 24 years ago. And he mourned the loss of Jimmy LeeJackson, Viola Liuzzo and others killed in the violence of the voting rights struggles of the 1960s.

“They died that we might live,” Jackson said.

It was a theme that has long been central to Jackson’s political identity, but it had particular significance as Jackson looked forward to his political future now that his presidential prospects have ended at last.

Jackson appealed to the party to find the same “common ground” that opposing sides reached in the civil rights struggle, creating a “New South,” where the Democrats have convened for the first time in a century.

“Common ground!” Jackson said. “That is the challenge to our party tonight. Left wing. Right wing. Progress will not come through boundless liberalism nor static conservatism but at the critical mass of mutual survival. It takes two wings to fly.”

But what brought many in the convention hall to tears was not where Jackson wants to take the country, but his raw, emotional account of how far he has come.

“You see Jesse Jackson on television, but you don’t know the me that makes me me,” said Jackson, who was born to an unwed teen-age mother. “Looked down on. Rejected. Low expectations. Told you can’t make it.”

In the Ohio delegation, a weeping Kay Liggett dabbed at her eyes and said, “I’m a Dukakis person. But I love him.”

As Jackson, who campaigned relentlessly long after the electoral suspense was over, stole the show once again Tuesday, there was scant sign of resentment on the convention floor, even among Dukakis’ most fervent supporters.

Not All Jubilation

But for Jackson supporters, all was not jubilation. Alice Huffman, a Jackson delegate from Sacramento, Calif., called the evening “sad, really, not a celebration. Maybe one day the country will be ready, but it won’t be Jesse. . . . I think if he were white he’d be the one coming tomorrow night,” when Massachusetts Gov. Dukakis will be proclaimed the party’s standard-bearer.

The lingering divisiveness could still be seen, in the dramatic contrast between the delegations of Jackson’s birth state, South Carolina, and of Illinois, where he formed his political base.

Among the white half of the divided Illinois delegation, there were neither signs nor cheers. But South Carolina’s delegation erupted every time Jackson spoke of his Southern roots.

“Teach, Jesse!” South Carolina delegate Beverly Fierson cried out. “Make it plain, Jesse!”

Jackson’s was a speech of celebration, an ode to a crusade that won the votes of 7 million and the grudging respect of many more, filled with campaign refrains that had inspired voters across the country throughout the presidential campaign.

Tone of Special Pride

But Jackson added a narrowed focus and tone of special pride Tuesday, the day after Dukakis had paid public tribute to the candidate and his constituency.

What Jackson hailed as “common ground” sounded like the core of the agreement between the two camps calling for a cooperative partnership in the fall campaign.

“Common ground is found in commitment to new priorities,” he said, “to expansion and inclusion. A commitment to expanding participation in the Democratic Party at every level. A commitment to a shared national campaign strategy, and involvement at every level. A commitment to new priorities that ensure that hope will be kept alive.”

And he gave particular emphasis to policy views shared with Dukakis, dwelling on the issues the two candidates had agreed to emphasize in the party platform and in the fall campaign: increased spending on education, simplified voter registration, sanctions against South Africa and statehood for the District of Columbia.

Issues a Warning Shot

The first burst of enthusiasm occurred when Jackson issued one of his few warning shots to those who might leave his supporters behind in the rush to Election Day, indicating that the Democratic Party wasn’t going anywhere without its Jackson-led wing.

Although Dukakis’ forefathers freely boarded the boats that carried them to this country and Jackson’s were forced aboard slave ships, Jackson said, “We are both in the same boat now.”

Amid his overall appeal for unity, Jackson still touched on policy areas over which he and Dukakis remain divided. Hours after losing platform fights over raising taxes and pledging never to initiate a nuclear war, Jackson argued his positions on those issues again.

But these differences seemed to be lost as Jackson left the stage and loudspeakers blared a campaign theme song. Dukakis and Jackson delegates by the hundreds joined arms and swayed to the music, exulting in the afterglow, and, at least for a moment, the Democrats seemed to have found that common ground.

Staff writers Frank Clifford and Patt Morrison contributed to this story.