Jesse's New Target: Silicon Valley

Jesse Jackson has seen the future of his push to win a bigger piece of prosperity for people of color--and it's in Silicon Valley. Whether this self-proclaimed meritocracy needs the sort of pressure for minority inclusion that Jackson has brought to bear on Wall Street and elsewhere is debatable. But there is no question that Jackson is taking his economic road show to the vibrant heartland of the New Economy, where whites command more than 90% of the CEO jobs and board seats at the top 150 public companies.

Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition has bought about $100,000 worth of stock in 50 of the biggest high-tech corporations. That gives Jackson entree to annual meetings--a tactic he has used before. Later this summer, Jackson plans to open a staffed office in San Jose. He is recruiting an advisory board of top Valley executives to suggest ways to increase black and Hispanic participation in the region's high-tech work force-- currently at 3.7% and 8.4%, respectively. And this fall, again mirroring his efforts on Wall Street, Jackson intends to host a conference that will address ways to better educate blacks and Hispanics for jobs in high tech.