Sowing Seeds and Moving On

You can't plant a seed and pick the fruit the next morning.

That epitgram is one of nine catchy admonitions given students by high school teachers who take part in Jesse Jackson's "Push for Excellence" program.

His defenders sometimes use it to explain why specific results are so hard to measure in and which is designed to motivate students to work harder and learn more in school. It is also used as a defense for Jackson's other major project, a series of "trade covenants" in which large corporations agree to hire more blacks and use the services of minority-owned businesses. Jackson's critics, on the other hand, contend that results are meager because Jackson does not tend the orchard long enough to ensure a harvest.

More inspirational crusade than a program of substance ("I am a preacher, not an educator," Jackson readily admits), PUSH-EXCEL exemplifies Jackson's belief that black students cannot just blame poor schools if they do not learn.

"What does it matter if we have a new book or an old book if we open neither?" asks another of PUSH-EXCEL's epigrams. White educators, in particular, praised this self-help philosophy when Jackson began advocating it in 1976. By 1981 the program had been officially adopted by some 35 high schools in nine cities.

Typically, schools in the program would have Jackson, other prominent blacks or the principal lead an inspirational rally early in each school year. Students would be asked to sign pledges that they would devote at least two hours to their homework each night. Parents would agree personally to pick up report cards for their children, thus meeting the teachers. Written codes of conduct would govern student behavior. On graduation, each senior would get a voter registration card as well as a diploma.

The program was funded with private contributions until 1978, when the Carter Administration began providing federal grants. About $4.5 million was awarded before the funding stopped when the Reagan Administration took office. For two years federal accountants have been conducting what they describe as a "routine" audit. They have not found full documentation for $935,000 and are not certain that an additional $779,000 was legally distributed. Meanwhile, the program continues in only 15 schools in four cities: Chicago; Charleston, S.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Jackson's agreements with corporations are relatively recent, and their long-term impact is impossible to predict. Since 1981, PUSH has signed contracts with five firms: Coca-Cola, Seven-Up, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Southland Corp., which owns 7-Eleven minimarkets and Chief auto-parts stores. Jackson's goal in these agreements, which are not legally binding, is to get a dollar's worth of economic benefits for blacks in return for every dollar blacks spend on the companies' products, as determined through market research.

The Seven-Up agreement, involving $61 million in company commitments, is typical. After ten months of negotiations, mainly with Jackson, Seven-Up agreed to raise its minority employment to 15% of its work force; give 15% of its service contracts, including insurance and travel-agency fees, to minority enterprises; use minority-owned banks for up to $3 million annually in payroll services; and increase its charitable donations to minority causes to 15%. Guy L. Smith IV, vice president of corporate affairs for Seven-Up, says he never felt unduly pressured by PUSH. Similarly, Erik J. Pierce, a spokesman for Heublein, Kentucky Fried Chicken's parent company at the time, described his firm's agreement as "good for minorities and good for Heublein."

Still, for has not shied away from using economic pressure. He called for a black "withdrawl of enthusiasm" from Coca-Cola shortly before the Coke-PUSH agreement was signed in 1981. The phrase was a euphemism for a boycott, which was then considered illegal. Courts have since decided boycotts are legal, and Jackson has been urging one against Anheuser-Busch, brewers of Budweiser. The company has refused to sign a covenant, contending that it is already doing most of what Jackson wants it to do. The year-old boycott seems to have had little impact and negotiations between PUSH and the company are continuing. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.