TJS: So, why are you throwing your support behind Sen. Bernie Sanders?
NJ: Ive been supporting him from the very beginning. I like the fact that he is anti-establishment and pro-economic justice. My initial support of him was around his refrain that We have to take money out of politics. Then he came out for us when he hired Symone Sanders [as his national press secretary]. It really reinforced that I made the right decision. After the Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle, a lot of people were upset that they interrupted Bernie Sanders. But I thought that he did what a president should do: Instead of taking the criticism as an insult, he saw it as an opportunity to improve his campaign and thats what we want our leaders to do.
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TJS: If you were on national television and had 30 seconds to pitch Bernie to America, what would you say?
Jackson: One of the things that people get wrong is that he is the idealist or the dreamer. But what weve been sold by all of these politicians so far are dreams and ideas; Bernie actually has a solid plan that says, Listen: True American democracy is the empowerment of the average working class person; not corporate business interests or the privileged top 1% (which the majority of Black America has never been a part of). College should be free for students, universal health care should be available to everyone, corporate money shouldnt rule governmental action, and government should focus on things that will help everyone not the few. I dont think hes the dreamer. Weve been sold status quo dreams all of these years and some of us cant recognize the real from the dream anymore. Bernie Sanders is real, and hes discussing the things that we need. Especially black people.