CIVIL rights campaigner the Rev Jesse Jackson said today that stopping the flow of guns and drugs into Britain's inner-cities was "critical to the security and stability" of the country.
Inner-city communities were a "target market" and the supply had to be stopped, he said at the start of a week-long visit to Britain which will include Manchester.
Mr Jackson,. who was helping launch a programme called Equanomics UK, which will address social problems in inner cities, focusing on wage inequality, poverty, trade policy, and the impact of credit and debt on ethnic minority communities.
The programme is being spearheaded by the 1990 Trust and Operation Black vote.
Mr Jackson told a Westminster press conference hosted by Labour MP Diane Abbott: "Those guns to not emanate from impoverished areas, they end up there because they are a target market.
"They do not grow these drugs in inner-city Manchester or Liverpool or Brixton.
"We need to know where the guns are coming from ... and who is profiting from them. That is critical to security and stability."
Ghettos
He talked of the dangers of ghettos in some cities "where jobs go out, investment goes out and drugs and guns come in", and criticised those who saw "more value in building jails rather than schools".
Mr Jackson said: "You pay a huge price when society is jilted in such a way as to see more value in building jails rather than schools.
"Pre-natal care and day-care on the front side of life is a better investment than jailcare and welfare on the back side.
"In this tour across the nation this week we will focus on something called Equanomics.
"That means equal opportunity. It means equal democracy, it means big tent democracy for all included.
"People of colour in Britain should stand proud as creditors, not as debtors - after all, the slave trade was the basis of the economic foundation, the basis of the industrial revolution.
"Work without wages as an act of the slave system meant that the enslaved were the creditors and the slave masters were the debtors."
Maximised
Mr Jackson said that in Britain voter registration among black and ethnic minority communities had to be "maximised", adding: "The people of colour are under-represented at every level of Government."
He did not have a view on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's commitment to improving the plight of black inner city communities as he had not had a chance to meet him.
Mr Jackson was strongly critical of the war in Iraq, saying: "We have lost lives, money and honour and the circle is simply getting deeper and we are losing our lives and we are losing moral authority.
"Those who led it might have to leave because they are morally bankrupt."
Mr Jackson will visit Bristol, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford during his tour.
Is Mr Jackson right? Have your say below.
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pro bono publico, Manchester (20/08/2007 at 22:07)
The Catcher, In the Rye (21/08/2007 at 08:17)
ace, manchester (21/08/2007 at 10:12)
How do these so called "Great thinkers" get their reputations? Even i could say "We need to stop the flow of guns getting into britain" the mind boggles why this guy has come to britain and polluted the skys,by flying here to tell us something we already know.What a waste of energy.The best way to stop all this is to bring the death penalty back and birch the low level criminals .this will slow the crime rate down. but the great thinkers would not agree with this ,instead they keep repeating the same garbage "We need to stop the flow of weapons" ???????????
The Catcher, In the Rye (21/08/2007 at 12:16)
ace, manchester (21/08/2007 at 12:33)
Holsten500 (21/08/2007 at 16:08)
mancunian, australia (21/08/2007 at 20:52)
Why is he in the UK anyway?
He can add nothing to to the gun debate. Publicity maybe?
He should look to his own part of the wourld, which I might add is a disgrace of violence & inequality.
Shaka (22/08/2007 at 11:32)
You are all so cynical and disbelieving of this man.
Before you can make judgement on him and his message, I suggest you read up on what he and many other Africans went through during the civil rights, slavery etc, then you might understand why he has taken the time out to visit the decendants of theose same people in the UK.
He came to give a message primarily to the people of colour in this country. That message is that we may have been freed of physical shackles and chains but the psychological ones still remain and whilst they do exist, we are still at the mercy of the modern day oppressors.
What he has to say may not mean anything to you but it means a lot to many others.
He is far more inspiring to listen to than any representative of any political party in parliment and we need more visits from people like him.
It's time to change attitudes and behaviours amongst all ethnic and racial groups in the UK and personally I think his visit and speeches are a good way to begin the process.
marc (22/08/2007 at 12:52)
The Catcher, In the Rye (22/08/2007 at 13:15)
He needs to return to America and help sort out his 'own' land and people before giving us advice.
Pescado (22/08/2007 at 17:57)
Men of his caliber speaking to young people in danger of making bad life choices can only be a good thing.