Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH 1,000 Churches Connected program holds `Ministers on Wall Street' conference

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, recently hosted the Rainbow/PUSH 1,000 Churches Connected's 4th annual Ministers on Wall Street-Economic Literacy Program at the New York Stock Exchange.

During the three-day economic literacy training conference, more than 60 ministers from across the country journeyed to the financial mecca of the world and met with Richard A. Grasso, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

During the training program, Rev. Jackson held a prayer vigil on the site of the historic African Burial Ground, where slaves were buried in the Wall Street district.

"African-Americans have a rightful place on Wall Street," Jackson explained. "The development of America's financial base was subsidized by our foreparents."

Jackson also noted, "In our modern economy, capital is the equivalent of water to a field. With it comes the possibility of growth without it little can survive. When we spread capital around, we expand the market."

More than 60,000 Americans were represented by the ministers at the conference who can now teach their congregations about the benefits of long-term financial planning.

The recent New York training program was offered to ministers who participate in the Rainbow/ PUSH 1,000 Churches Connected project, which seeks to establish and support ministers on financial matters for their congregations.