Jackson leads ‘I will graduate’ chant at BTW
The Rev. Jesse Jackson led hundreds of students Monday in rising to their feet and chanting “I will graduate” at Booker T. Washington High School in South Memphis.
The civil rights leader stood on the stage at the school’s auditorium and encouraged excellence in education. He also encouraged students to vote, asking students in the crowd who are 18 years old to stand and pledge to be a registered voter by the day’s end.
During the assembly, students filled out the necessary paperwork, and Memphis City Councilwoman Jamita
Swearengen was taking the applications to the election commission.
“I will do my best,” Jackson urged the students to shout. “I will not self-destruct ... I can learn anything in the world ... There is nothing I cannot do. Stop the violence . ... Strong minds break strong chains.”
The students clapped and cheered in echoing Jackson’s call of “I am somebody.”
“Their excitement was very genuine,” Principal Alisha Kiner told The Commercial Appeal after Jackson’s talk. “I thought this was awesome.”
Jackson and the students also had a moment of prayer for the Memphis-born Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
Jackson, the founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is among several famous visitors to the school.
President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech at the high school’s graduation in 2011, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson spoke to Booker T. Washington students in 2015, presenting $30,000 from his scholarship fund. Actor Lamman Rucker has also visited the school, Shelby County Schools said.
Jackson also visited Whitehaven High School last year, and he spoke in April in Memphis for the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On Monday, he reminded students that King finished high school at 15 years old and went on to graduate college, become a minister and earn his Ph.D by age 26. King was a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta.
“He did not waste his time,” Jackson said.
After Jackson’s talk, several high school students joined him on stage and proudly held up their voter registration paperwork, including senior Jamiah Irby.
“It felt like we finally have a say in something that goes on,” she said of the experience registering to vote.