The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s presence is both fascinating and formidable, and his civil rights work is far from over.

As the founder of the social justice nonprofit organization Rainbow/PUSH (a combination of the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH), Jackson’s recent visit to Dallas’ Paul Quinn College was to draw attention to the underwhelming numbers of women and minorities in the technology sector, a discrepancy that prevents a fair distribution of wealth and influence in communities of color.

“This is the fourth phase of the Civil Rights Movement,” Jackson says, lowering his 6’3 frame into a chair as recorders are activated and cameras flash. “The first was to end the legal slavery of 246 years, the second was to end the Jim Crow laws, the third was the right to vote and now the fourth is access to capital, industry and technology. Ending segregation in the schools has been accomplished, but segregation in the boardroom is now even more pronounced.”

Jackson recently attended the shareholder meetings of Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Valley’s other leading technology companies and used their own hiring numbers to emphasize the need for diversity in the recruitment and hiring of people of color. “Those in charge of hiring in the private sector have resisted publicizing their EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] records because when Google’s were revealed, they proved that their executives were about 60 percent white. 30 percent Asian, 2 percent Latino and 1 percent black,” he says. “They’re also bringing in employees from overseas at lower wages to get the jobs…instead of investing in training here.”

By “here,” Jackson means domestically, and schools like Paul Quinn College can, with the right resources, become “a part of the pipeline” to provide new technology candidates for training and internships.

“We [people of color] don’t have a talent shortage, we have an employment and opportunity shortage,” Jackson says. “60 percent of Silicon Valley is non-technical; lawyers, advertising, marketing, mergers and acquistions. Often, even those of us who are qualified for the tech jobs can’t get in either, and that’s because of the deficit of fair trading and access.”

Despite the broad range of the dilemma, the solution, according to Jackson, is a simple one: It all starts at the top. “The first step is to catch the chair persons in these very illusive shareholder meetings and raise the questions,” Jackson says. “As consumers, we have every right to know how many of their workforce is black and brown. These board members wield awesome power and we have the right as consumers to expect our share of board positions, jobs, contracts for goods and services.”

For those aware of Jackson’s historical accomplishments, hiring may seem like a small thing. But even with an African-American president in the White House, true power starts in the homes of communities who can wield influence both politically and economically.

“We’re free but not equal,” Jackson says. “There’s lots of focus on politics, but not enough of it on the private sector. Tapping into it is critical in accomplishing the next phase of our struggle.”