Jesse Jackson, Jr., Issues Call for Resumes from Americans

Jesse Jackson, Jr., son of longtime civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson, says he is trying to put a more human dimension on the current unemployment situation in the United States. His declared purpose is to demonstrate dramatically the level of the jobless problem in America today.

The 45-year-old Illinois statesman issued his call for resumes of unemployed countrymen and women, presenting a prepared statement before the U.S. Congress on January 7^th.

"Today, I began an effort to mobilize the unemployed, the under-employed and the economically desperate," Jesse Jackson, Jr., said (on his official Congressional website). "I will be collecting resumes of out-of-work Americans in order to submit them for the Congressional Record as a way of putting a face on the jobs crisis we confront. By sending their resumes to me, the unemployed will be permitting me to use their stories as we fight for jobs and enter their curriculum vitae into the Record."

Of course, U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., makes no promises of offering employment or job placement assistance to those who send him their resumes.

"Of course, sending me a resume will not put anybody first in line for a job," Jesse Jackson, Jr., stated. "[Resumes] will not be forwarded to anybody who is hiring. But it will put the jobs issue front and center before the government so that we can remind elected officials that we need to go to work every day for those who aren't allowed to go to work every day, but want to."

The Illinois statesman invites jobless Americans to send their own resumes by e-mail (ResumesforAmerica@mail.house.gov) or postal mail (Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., 2419 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, 20009).

What did Jesse Jackson, Jr., say in the U.S. Congress about asking for jobless Americans' resumes?

Speaking on the floor of U.S. Congress on Friday, January 7, 2010, Jesse Jackson, Jr., said this:

"Mr. Speaker, as we enter 2011, we find ourselves in the same jobs situation as in 2010.

"In order to show the huge need for jobs, I'll be collecting resumes from Americans who are unemployed or underemployed. I'll submit them for the Congressional Record.

"Unfortunately, submitting these resumes for the Record will not get anybody a job.

"By collecting these resumes, I hope to dramatize the shameful condition of unemployment and compel action to do something about it. I hope to remind my colleagues every day that we work for those Americans who have been left behind, but who want to work.

"Today I call on my fellow Americans to send me your resume and your story.... If you are out of work, send me your resume and story so that I can use it to remind our government of the need to act.

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that America has issued a bad check, that it has come back marked insufficient funds....But the vault of opportunity of this nation is not bankrupt.

"Again, Mr. Speaker, sending a resume to me will not put you first in line for any job. But it will put you front and center to remind your government that so many Americans are in need, and that we must create jobs.

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

Who is Jesse Jackson, Jr.?

Jesse Jackson, Jr., is an American politician, representing the second district of Illinois in the U.S. Congress. The Democratic legislator is the son of the flamboyant and often eloquent civil rights spokesman, Rev. Jesse Jackson.