Jesse Jackson Encourages Voter Registration In Detroit

The civil rights activist spoke to Cass Tech students during “Detroit’s Voter Registration Day.”

The Reverend Jesse Jackson is making the case for Detroit’s youngest eligible residents to exercise their right to vote. The civil rights activist, who won Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary in 1988, appeared with Mayor Mike Duggan at Cass Technical High School yesterday for Detroit’s first “Voter Registration Day”. During his remarks to the students, Jackson led a series of call-and-response messages.

Jackson said the 560 students of Cass Tech’s graduating class have the power to create political change and that Latinos and African-Americans must unite to protect each other’s political interests. “They can elect governors. We can fight to get the lead out of the water in Flint,” Jackson said. “We can have livable wages, we can get scholarships if in fact that’s our politics. And they’ll have a big choice to make November 8th this year and they cannot just hope for change, they can vote for the change that they seek.” Jackson added that registered voters can be selected for jury duty and impact the decisions of court cases. The voter registration deadline for the November general election is October 11th.

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  • Eli Newman
    Eli Newman is a Reporter/Producer for 101.9 WDET, covering breaking news, politics and community affairs. His favorite Motown track is “It’s The Same Old Song” by the Four Tops.