Justice Department Closes Its Doors to Jesse Jackson
WASHINGTON — The Rev. Jesse Jackson was turned away at the door of the Justice Department today as he sought to present Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III with a long list of complaints against the Reagan Administration’s civil rights record.
Jackson led a group of about 250 marchers from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library to the department on the 57th anniversary of King’s birth. They picketed and chanted--”What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”--as Jackson, a one-time King aide, sought unsuccessfully to meet with Meese.
Jackson was met by uniformed police and a department publicist, who told him he could not enter the building without an appointment.
After Jackson stood his ground in a crush of police, supporters and reporters for 30 minutes, Steven Calabresi, a special assistant to Meese, appeared and accepted Jackson’s materials and told him consideration would be given to a future direct meeting with Meese.
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