I got this from Black Planet and am shocked and amazed at her side of the story.
Monday, May 21, 2001, 3:49 pm EST
Mom of Jesse Jackson`s Kid Speaks
Associated Press
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The mother of the Rev. Jesse Jackson`s out-of-wedlock child says she didn`t tell the civil rights leader for several months that she was pregnant because she worried it would hurt his political aspirations.
``I guess I was afraid,` Jackson`s former aide, Karin L. Stanford, told the Chicago Tribune in a story published Sunday. ``I didn`t want to do anything to hurt him or the movement.`
Stanford said she did not tell Jackson until at least three or four months into her pregnancy that she was expecting. She says she even bought ``a fake engagement ring` and persuaded an old friend to fly to Washington a few times to play the role of her fiance and the father-to-be.
``Despite the fact that I told the world the baby wasn`t Rev. Jackson`s, a lot of people didn`t believe it,` said Stanford, a 39-year-old author and former professor. ``They knew about our relationship.`
She says she believes Jackson ``always knew` he was the father and that her pregnancy played a role in his 1998 decision not to run for president.
The Tribune was unable to reach Jackson for comment. His spokesman, Lou Colasuonno, said he did not know if the pregnancy influenced Jackson`s decision.
Jackson made two previous attempts at the White House, in 1984 and 1988.
Stanford said she had successfully fought breast cancer a year before becoming pregnant, and did not believe she could conceive. She said ignored two doctors` recommendations to have an abortion because she felt it was her only chance to have a child.
She sued Jackson in April to formalize a child-support agreement. Jackson has been sending $3,000 a month to support his daughter, who turned 2 on Friday.
Stanford said she wants Jackson someday to be a part of their daughter`s life. She said Jackson had been visiting the child once or twice a month in Los Angeles, but has not been back since the story of their 41/2-year affair became public in January.
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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.
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Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.
Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.
What one hopes for is always better than what one has.