NEWARK, N.J. — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who twice ran for president, mocks the notion that the mere fact that a Black person is sitting in the White House means the nation has entered a “post-racial” era.

At best, America is “post-racist in a legal sense, but not post-racial in terms of the unfinished business,” Jackson told law professors and students meeting under the theme of “Our Country, Our World in a ‘Post-Racial’ Era” at the Third National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference at Seton Hall University School of Law.

“We have gone from learning to survive apart but not learning how to live together,” he added. “Furthermore, we should not want to be post-racial. What we want to be is multi-racial and multi-cultural. We should affirm race.”

In a wide-ranging discussion on Friday, Jackson said that the unfinished business includes the many indicators of economic disparities for members of racial and ethnic minority groups but warned also that those who were allies in gaining the legal freedoms of the civil rights era would not necessarily be allies for erasing the disparities found today.

Jackson confirmed his participation just two days before the conference opened, but organizers eagerly rearranged numerous panels to allow participants to hear him. During a special session moderated by Michele B. Goodwin, professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School, Jackson skillfully fielded questions. The multicultural audience of law students and scholars accorded him nearly “rock star” status, clamoring to shake his hand, listening attentively and rising for a standing ovation at the conclusion.

Mayor Cory Booker of Newark had expressed similar thoughts on Thursday as the four-day gathering opened. He told the attendees that the country is not in a “post-racial” era and that he would not want it to be as more people become aware of diversity and uncomfortable with resulting disparities.