The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) has fought for nearly a century to bring equality and civil rights to blacks, but now, Rev. Jesse Jackson believes the organization has a new fight: save the auto industry.

The long time civil rights activist explained his stance during Detroit NAACP's 54th Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner Sunday evening (May 3), stating that the city's auto industry is a lifeline for African Americans.

"We must now save the entire industry from itself," Jackson said. "We cannot have joy while Chrysler is in bankruptcy and GM is in line. There is a sense of joy because it's high noon in our politics, but it's midnight in our economy."

"Detroit is not just your city," he continued. "It is the soul of industrial America. ... We must fight back to save GM, Ford and Chrysler. That's our lifeline."

Jackson said earlier that day that the employment picture in Detroit, which is among the cities hardest hit by declining economy, has shifted from "the Big Three to gambling casinos."

The city of Detroit has mirrored the failures of the auto industry, reports the Associated Press, as the city's poverty and unemployment rates have become one of the highest in the country, as is its home foreclosure rate. Detroit's population is more than 80% black.

Chrysler, the nation's third-largest automaker behind General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week after months of surviving on government loans. All three car companies have laid off thousands of workers and closed a number of factories in the Detroit area and across the country.

Jesse Jackson says those jobs need to be saved, during his 25-minute speech.

"The cause of the workers is a moral cause," he said. "It's time for a righteous rebellion, civil disobedience."

"We need to stand behind them and fight for them," he continued.

During his speech, Jackson also criticized the governments bailouts to banks, who have -- as widely publicized -- given million-dollar bonuses to executives while the rest of the nation suffers, including the auto industry, who employees hundreds of thousands.

During the fund dinner, the United Auto Workers union and its president Ron Gettelfinger also were honored. Gettelfinger thanked the NAACP for its support for America's auto workers.

"We recognize that most of us derived our livelihood from the auto industry, directly or indirectly," said GM Chief Executive, Fritz Henderson, who spoke on behalf of GM, Ford and Chrysler. "We're all in this together."

Additionally, singer Aretha Franklin, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Detroit pastor the Rev. Edwin Rowe were also honored for contributions to the civil rights movement.