The passing of the Rev. Jesse Jackson has left a void in the nation’s civil rights lexicon.
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Mrs. Michelle Obama issued a statement commenting on the passing of Jackson.
Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a true giant, the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
For more than 60 years, Reverend Jackson helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history. From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect.
Reverend Jackson also created opportunities for generations of African Americans and inspired countless more, including us. Michelle got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager. And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land.
Michelle and I will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share. We stood on his shoulders. We send our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and everyone in Chicago and beyond who knew and loved him.
Jackson, who was standing next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when the baptist minister and civil rights leader was shot and killed, saw his own pathway trajectory and legacy grow in the aftermath.
He became a civil rights activist in his own right and became a two-time presidential candidate, both times representing the Democratic Party.
Jackson was 84 when he made the transition from earth to the heavenly realm. Like King and others before him, Jackson had an appetite for fighting for human equality, economic and social justice and liberating those facing oppression.
The moniker, “I Am Somebody,” would be a phrase Jackson used routinely to encourage others and became a source of inspiration for many people as the national spotlight on him grew.
Parlaying superior orator and communication skills, Jackson took his brand of activism to the next level by establishing the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an international civil rights organization.
Although they acted and moved differently at times, Jackson, King, Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy, Rev. James Lawson, John Lewis, and Julian Bond formed the core leadership mantle of the Civil Rights Movement. The passing of Jackson may signal the end of an era in American history.
Photo credit: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration/Public Domain
Photo caption: The Rev. Jesse Jackson addressing an audience at the annual PUSH Black Expo in Chicago, Illinois.
