Jackson calls on Clemson to increase black enrollment

Received by Newsfinder from APFeb 21, 2005 1:31 Eastern Time CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) _ The Rev. Jesse Jackson wrapped up a speech about the 1965 Voting Rights Act here by calling on Clemson University to enroll more black students. “The state’s population is 35 percent black, but Clemson’s student body is 7 percent black,” said Jackson, a Greenville native and head of the national civil rights organization Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. “Yet, on the playing field, it’s 75 percent black. Clemson, we’ve got to do better,” Jackson said. Jackson’s remarks came after a speech that’s part of the college’s commemoration of the anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Jackson said the same mentalities that drove legislators to so vehemently oppose the black race’s voting rights led to the irregularities during the 2000 election and voting problems last year.