3rd annual Jesse Jackson repudiation day

January 16, 2002

The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, or BOND, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, will hold its third annual “National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson” this month.

The event is scheduled for Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 21, in front of the offices of Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH in the City of Angels. The Rev. Jesse Peterson, founder and leader of BOND and a member of WorldNetDaily’s Speakers Bureau, has said the event will be held every year “until Jesse Jackson repents of his wrongs.”

Jesse Peterson

Peterson’s group has long been a critic of Jackson, arguing that the Chicago-based civil rights leader is little more than a “shakedown artist” who uses his political clout and influence to “pressure major corporations” into donating to his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition charities.

“Jackson’s racist and thug-like conduct over the past 30 years has severely damaged race relations and nearly destroyed black Americans,” said Peterson.

According to a statement from BOND, speaking at this year’s event will be Peterson; WorldNetDaily columnist Jane Chastain; Terry Anderson, immigration control activist and radio talk-show host; Ted Hayes, activist for the homeless and radio talk-show host; and Pastor Wiley Drake of the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, Calif.

In December, BOND leaders blasted Jackson for accusing President Bush of targeting other black leaders.

Speaking at the State of the Black World Conference meeting in Atlanta last month, Jackson characterized the Bush administration as “extreme right-wing” and intent on “targeting our leadership. …”

“The extreme right wing has seized the government. Tonight, [Attorney General John] Ashcroft, the CIA, the FBI, Homeland Security and the IRS can work together, so look out,” Jackson told the crowd. “Because without a definition of who is a terrorist, anyone can be. … The right-wing media, the FBI – they are targeting our leadership.”

“How does the terrorist attack on America relate to black leadership?” countered Peterson.

Then, on Dec. 12, Peterson claimed that Jackson supporters – including his son Jonathan – allegedly assaulted him physically and verbally at a trade conference in Los Angeles.

Peterson said Jackson’s supporters “positioned themselves across from me and glared at me for the remainder of the meeting” after he asked Jackson a question about a training program Jackson’s coalition was helping carmaker Toyota set up.

“The crowd began yelling, screaming and jeering at me,” Peterson said, including Judge Greg Mathis, host of Warner Brothers’ reality court program, the “Judge Mathis Show.”

Peterson said Mathis told him to leave “‘before you get your ass kicked.'”

Attempts to gain comment from the coalition’s L.A. offices were unsuccessful. A spokeswoman at Rainbow’s national headquarters in Chicago said she had no knowledge of the incident.

During the Dec. 12 incident, Mathis and others also allegedly accused Peterson of “watching too much O’Reilly” – a reference to Fox News’ popular political talk show host and WND columnist Bill O’Reilly.

On his program that evening, O’Reilly, while interviewing Peterson about the incident, blamed the car maker.

“This is Toyota’s fault for being too afraid to stand up to Jackson,” he said, adding that in his experience investigating Jackson’s business practices, Toyota’s concessions were typical.