Why I Joined Glenn Beck's Rally, by Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr.

The 2010 election cycle is likely to be filled with mystery, wonder and surprise. Both major parties, the tea party movement and myriad other groups will be vying to have their voices heard above the political din. Saturday continued the noise. Two rallies descended upon Washington, D.C., marking the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington.

Both conservatives and liberals voiced their opinions this past weekend. Several months ago Glenn Beck's show chose the date for its "Restoring Honor" Rally and secured the Lincoln Memorial location, apparently not even realizing the King tie-in until later. It was originally designed as a spiritually oriented event to show the nation that the community of faith is united behind "our unswerving commitment to be 'One Nation Under God.' "

Then Rev. Al Sharpton decided to develop a competing rally, accusingly titled, "Reclaiming the Dream." Beck's rally originally was cast as spiritual, while Sharpton and his allies characterized his march as a protest to Beck's event. 

The question for last weekend is, "What would Martin have done?"

At this critical juncture in history, all Americans need solution-based moral and political leadership. We need to break the historically tainted lenses through which we view our collective moral and political decisions. 

African-Americans are at an even more acutely strategic moment. Having slipped to the second most numerous minority, African-American civic and moral leaders must decide to exert their political power and become a conscience to both Democrats and Republicans. 

If only 18 to 20 percent of black voters feel at liberty to vote their values, blacks could become the swing vote that changes the destiny of our nation -- race by race, candidate by candidate. The most natural unifying alliance that African-Americans could build is with white and Hispanic evangelicals, who share their core values and worldview. With this kind of radical new alignment, new approaches to our most pressing problems could be developed and tested. Our newly defined "good guys" of whatever party could begin to emerge. 

Wishful thinking? Perhaps.

Yet this past weekend we celebrated the legacy of the ultimate dreamer, whose famed words moved him from being seen as a national security threat to center stage of the nation's value system. Forty-seven years after the speech, everyone wants to be identified with the passion, power and purpose of his message. In order to make real moral and political change possible in 2010, once again some black leaders have to wander off the "political plantation" upon which their people currently reside -- the Democratic Party.

Therefore, although I have very close friends and associates on both sides, I chose to participate with Glenn Beck on Saturday and attempt to build the new coalition I have just discussed. 

Rallying with Beck may temporarily bring a backlash of ridicule and rebuke to many of the black civic and religious leaders who joined me. Long term, however, the courage of these leaders will point the way and embolden others. Despite any personal discomfort, we believe it is time to make a real change.