Tallahassee, Fla.
Thousands of marchers -- led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and dozens of politicians, labor and civil-rights leaders -- descended on the Florida Capitol on Tuesday to protest Gov. Jeb Bush’s policy to end affirmative action in university admissions and government contracting.
As protesters waved signs and chanted, “No more Bush,” several speakers urged the crowd to take their fight to the ballot box in November. Marchers vowed to express their anger over the abolition of affirmative action by voting against Governor Bush’s brother, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
“Could you imagine waking up on November 8th and opening the paper to see that George W. Bush is president of the United States?” U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida, asked the crowd to an immediate roar of boos. “That is what this is all about -- the November election.”
The march coincided with Gov. Jeb Bush’s State of the State speech and the opening of the State Legislature. A few black lawmakers skipped the governor’s speech in favor of the rally.
Under the hot Florida sun, thousands walked a mile to the Old Capitol building next to the present-day State Capitol. Marchers sang hymns and many carried homemade signs saying, “Bush Whacked,” “No Dictators, No Texans,” and “Florida Needs a Talented Governor,” a swipe at Mr. Bush’s “Talented 20" policy. That policy replaces the use of race in university admissions with a guarantee that the top 20 percent of the graduates of every Florida high school would have seats at one of the state’s 10 public universities.
The march was one of the largest in this Florida city, police said; crowd estimates varied between 9,000 and 11,000. The coalition of marchers on Tuesday included large groups from several labor unions and the National Organization for Women. And it included a contingent of college students, even though many of the state’s public institutions are on spring break this week.
Many of the students said they came out to counter the perception around the state that they had been too quiet on the issue. A few students said they were disappointed that the university presidents had failed to take a harder stance against Governor Bush’s plan, particularly since few of them had been consulted before it was announced last fall.
“We had faith in our president that she wouldn’t have supported this,” said Najahla Smith, a freshman at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. “We’re going to fight back by registering to vote. And we’re going to say No to George W. Bush in November.”
Coming on the same day as the Super Tuesday primaries in 16 states, the event was heavy with political overtones. Several marchers held signs in support of Bill Bradley or Al Gore, while candidates for statewide offices worked the crowds.
Even after nearly two hours of speeches, the crowd greeted Mr. Jackson -- the highlight of the day for many of them -- with a deafening roar.
“Our message today is simple: gender and race matter,” Mr. Jackson told the marchers after he led them in a prayer. Then taking aim at the Bush family, he said that President Bush “gave us Willie Horton and Clarence Thomas, George Bush gave us Bob Jones University and 120 executions, and Jeb Bush ends affirmative action.”
“The moral of the story,” he said, “is to stay out of the Bushes.”
Mr. Jackson and Kweisi Mfume, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., criticized Gov. Jeb Bush for making an offer only last week to meet with them while they were in Florida. The offer was accompanied by a warning that the governor’s mind could not be changed, Mr. Jackson said. He said that Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, both of whom Mr. Jackson has dealt with in negotiating the release of captured Americans, had shown more open-mindedness than Gov. Jeb Bush.
During his State of the State speech, Mr. Bush did not mention the nearby protesters. Rather, he said, “the vast majority of Floridians favor the elimination of affirmative-action programs.” He said it would have been “politically expedient” to have ended affirmative action without offering anything to replace it, but he said that his new policy, called One Florida, reaches out to members of minority groups.
Part of that plan, the Talented 20, which was set to go into effect with this fall’s incoming freshman class, is now on hold because of an administrative challenge filed by the N.A.A.C.P.
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