Jesse Jackson, Jr. and wife Sandi, who is on the Chicago City Council Apparently a scandal has broken out in Chicago politics. Not the first time to be sure. This time the scandal involves one of the best known names in the Civil Rights movement, Jackson. Reverend Jesse Jackson's first born son Jesse Jackson, Jr.
It seems that Jesse Jr. has had an extramarital affair. And what makes it worse to some people of Chicago is that said affair was Tiger Woods style with a blond waitress/ model named Giovanna Huidobro.
Harold Ford, Jr. and wifeIn 2010 so-called interracial relationships are no big deal in general but in politics it's still the 1960's as far as how many view such relationships. Just ask another Junior, Harold Ford, Jr. His quest for the Senate in Tennessee was ruined, many say, by political ads which spoke of his penchant for blond White women. A lot of people thought those ads were just political dirty tricks southern style until Mr. Ford actually married a blond White woman. And that marriage seemingly ended Harold Ford, Jr's political career in Tennessee. He has now moved to New York and was considering making a run for office there.
Prior to this revelation of Mr. Jackson's affair he was pondering a run for Chicago mayor. He was also fending off allegations that he conspired to try to buy a seat in the Senate from the former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich.
So this affair, which Jesse Jackson, Jr. has admitted to is just another brick in the wall of problems facing him at the moment which threaten to derail his political career permanently.
But the underlying and more interesting question seems to be would this affair have rocked his political career had the woman been Black or at least of color? I think we all know that America is no where near post-racial. In fact in some ways it seems that we are regressing as a nation when it comes to matters of so-called race. So it's not really a surprise that the racial aspect of Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s affair is being talked about in Chicago.
