This op-ed by Arab-American leader and community organizer James Zogby reflects on his experience being propositioned by Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1984 to join the latter’s presidential campaign. Zogby took the position as Jackson’s ’84 deputy campaign manager, which gave rise to a presidential campaign that was deeply inclusive of Arab Americans, and gave rise to multiple Arab-American delegates. Even as Jackson’s campaign did not succeed, Zogby sees it as a turning moment for Arab American political empowerment. He sees the major progress in Arab American civil rights as directly coinciding with this campaign. Zogby ends by reiterating the need for Arab-Americans to further pursue political empowerment.
Read the full op-ed here.
