Thursday, October 13, 2011

US civil rights activist visits Lund University in Sweden

American civil rights activist, the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson was in Lund University, southern Sweden on 12-13 October 2011 during which he participated in a workshop and gave an open lecture about "civil rights in the US today," aimed at students of Lund University's Master program in international human rights law.

A short video of Jesse Jackson's visit to Lund University was posted this afternoon on the University's official Facebook page (international version).



Here is a key phrase from the short video interview: "learning how to live together in a multiracial, multicultural setting..."

This message comes at a time when racism and xenophobia in Europe are running high. This is true in many countries, including Sweden that has a party with Nazis "connections" in parliament and a growing number of so-called "white power groups" on the streets.

In Finland, President Tarja Halonen recently acknowledged the rise of racism in the Nordic country and members of parliament of the growing "True Finns" political party make no secret of their xenophobic and "Islamophobic" stance.

The 22 July massacre in Norway further puts the dire situation in Europe into perspective.

It is important to heed Jesse Jackson's call for equality.

I welcome Reverend Jackson's visit to this part of the world in general and to my alma mater in particular. Lund University happens to be one of the world's top 100 Universities (2011-2012). The university was also among the top 100 universities in 2009.

Photo: Eric Guo.

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