The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke about voting rights to a full auditorium in Altgeld Hall Thursday night.

Jackson began his lecture with a brief history of slavery and civil rights up to 1965.

“The laws changed, but the culture did not,” Jackson said.

Jackson then talked about Chicago professional sports teams to demonstrate how every player is on an equal level during games.

“No matter who’s batting or who’s pitching, the walls don’t move back,” he said. “The playing field is even, the rules are public and the goals are clear.”

NIU President John Peters welcomed Jackson.

“In all of his work, Jesse Jackson reminds us of our responsibilities,” Peters said. “Thank you, Reverend, for helping us understand public service.”

Jackson began speaking about voting rights and explained that voting laws vary by state. It is up to each state to determine its voting laws. Unlike past generations at NIU, the current generation did not go through a time when they’re not allowed to vote, Jackson said.

Jackson also stressed thinking globally and using the vote locally.

Senior English major Erik Huston said Jackson’s thoughts on voting strengthened his beliefs.

“As far as my faith in voting, I know there are a lot of problems,” he said. “But there won’t be any change if you don’t try.”

Jackson tied ignorance to voting with President Bush’s ignorance about Hurricane Katrina.

“We saw the hurricane coming for five days,” he said.

Natural laws of our earth cannot be ignored, he added. He also expressed dissent toward reconstruction efforts.

“Karl Rove is no more qualified to do reconstruction than [Michael] Brown was for [the Federal Emergency Management Agency],” Jackson said.

Character makes our generation whole, he said as a final comment. The reverend then answered nearly a dozen questions after his lecture.

The audience responded well to Jackson and gave a standing ovation at the end of the lecture. Freshman undecided major Tiana Jones said she enjoyed the speech and thought it was informative.

“He had really good points about needing to think globally and act locally,” she said.

Jones also is thinking of joining Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition.

Though sophomore physical therapy major Amber Whitecotton initially came for her communication class, she said she enjoyed the speech and was not bored at all.

“[Jackson] drove in how important voting is and how the individual can make a difference,” Whitecotton said.