• Originally published in The Jackson Sun February 27, 2005 Sunday Madison co. and West tn Editions

Copyright 2005 The Jackson Sun (Jackson, TN)

By TIFFANY S. JONES

U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Memphis, spoke at the NAACP's Freedom Dinner on Saturday night at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The dinner and Ford's speech concluded the group's second annual two-day Race Relations Summit. The summit began Friday night at Jackson State Community College with a health forum that included former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders as the keynote speaker.

While he was en route to the speaking engagement from Nashville, Ford spoke with The Jackson Sun on Saturday about his plans to run for the U.S. Senate. Question: Why haven't you officially announced that you are running for the U.S. Senate? Answer: The race is not until next year. I have been traveling the state listening to what people are concerned about. I believe that over the next 10 years, the biggest questions people have in the United States will be answered by the U.S. Senate. That is definitely driving my interest in running.

I am in no rush. I don't think the voters are interested in hearing candidates run around saying they are running for office. I'm a believer in (the philosophy) that you have to get out and listen to what the people have to say. That's what I am doing and will continue to do.

I want to make sure the voters know the difference between me and my uncle (state Sen. John Ford). Q: Do you think the negative press that your uncle has received will haunt your campaign later? A: I don't think it will haunt me. I think the voters in West Tennessee know the difference between me and my uncle. I love my uncle; I don't agree with everything he does.

If I could choose my family, I'd share the recipe with everybody because I think everybody has someone in their family who they don't (always agree) with or at the very least embarrasses them. Q: The people in West Tennessee already know you and the work that you have done. What have you been doing in the middle and eastern part of the state to get your name out there? A: The same thing I do everywhere I speak. I don't tell them anything different than what I tell everyone else.

I talk about national security and how we can position ourselves to confront terrorism and defeat it. I think the trip President Bush is coming off of from Europe shows an admission from both sides of the Atlantic that the squash(ing) of tyranny is a good thing. His visit there was to build relationships and mend fences.

I think the real work will come now. We'll find out if they are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work (to help combat terrorism). I am asking him to take similar trips to Israel and the Palestinian territories and to Africa and hold a one- or two-day conference. Q: What can the U.S. House and Senate do to help combat HIV/AIDS on both a national and international level? A: Each year, the president has promised to pledge billions of dollars to help combat AIDS to other countries, particularly African countries, and we haven't made good on it. I ask that when he goes to those countries to take a check and present it.

Here in the U.S. we could certainly do more. We have a long way to go. I'm particularly concerned on the international front. If the U.S. does not show leadership, this effort will not be jump-started or undertaken.  Visit talkback.jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

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