Jesse Jackson speaks to students at Central
BY ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Friday, August 24, 2012
8/24/12 at 3:29 PM
Central Junior High and High School capped off its first week of school with a hastily arranged visit by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“Wherever we go, we visit schools because I want to inspire youth to move forward by hope and not by fear,” Jackson said. “Our dropout rates are far too high - we need to have a greater appreciation for the value of education and do more to support education.
"We’ve got too many first-class jails and second-class schools,” he said.
In between school buses and parents dropping off students, the civil rights acitivist and political figure stepped out of an SUV and was greeted by excited school leaders and some surprised students.
“Good morning, everybody,” Jackson said, stopping for dozens of hugs and handshakes.
“Jesse Jackson is here!” shouted one student.
Jackson came to Oklahoma for several events and for a court appearance by former Oklahoma State basketball player Darrell Williams, who was convicted July 23 of two counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of sexual assault stemming from a December 2010 off-campus party.
Jackson visited Central at the invitation of Anthony Scott, the pastor of First Baptist Church North Tulsa, who is helping to establish an Oklahoma chapter of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH coalition.
First Baptist Church North Tulsa is one of Central's Partners in Education.
Read more on this story in Saturday's Tulsa World.
Associated Images:
Rev. Jesse Jackson talks with Marcialle West, a junior at Central High School and Principal Jaqueline Tolbert (right) during a visit to the school in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Rev. Jesse Jackson gets news on his phone about a shootout at the Empire State Building in New York City, while he waits for the auditorium to fill with students before he delivered a speech Central Junior High and High School in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Rev. Jesse Jackson reviews his notes while he waits to be introduced to students during a visit to Central Junior High and High School in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Carolyn Roberts (center) Martin Stampley, Jr., (right) and others, get pictures of Rev. Jesse Jackson during a visit to Central Junior High and High School in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Rev. Jesse Jackson gestures to students as he enters the auditorium before a speech to students at Central Junior High and High School in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
LaShawn McBee (center) and Markeisha Carroll (right), both seniors, listen and repeat lines from Rev. Jesse Jackson during a speech to students at Central Junior High and High School in Tulsa on Friday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Jheri Hall (right) a senior at Central Junior High and High School, joins other students as they register to vote following a speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson during a visit to the school in Tulsa on Friday, August 24, 2012. Rev. Jackson spoke during an assembly at the school on Friday morning. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Aaliyah Powdrill, an eighth-grader at Central Junior High and High School, gets a hug from Rev. Jesse Jackson during a visit to the school in Tulsa on Friday, August 24, 2012. Rev. Jackson spoke during an assembly at the school on Friday morning. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
|
