Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Dies At 84

Keep hope alive!

A famous line from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 speech at the Democratic National Convention. The civil rights leader died Tuesday at the age of 84.

⚫️ He had a football scholarship before becoming more active in the civil rights movement in college: Born to an unwed, teenage mother in Greenville, South Carolina, Jesse Jackson became both an honor student and class president at his high school before earning a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. After one year, he transferred to North Carolina A&T State University, a historically black college, where he became active in the civil rights movement.

⚫️ He worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and was steps away when MLK Jr. was assassinated: After college, Jackson moved to Illinois to attend seminary, but eventually left the program to lead the Chicago branch of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and its Operation Breadbasket (an economic initiative). The New York Times describes the dichotomy of both his charasmatic and controversial position in the group: “For all his zeal, Mr. Jackson became the most controversial member of Dr. King’s inner circle. Though he was part of the leadership, he was also, with his base in Chicago, almost an independent actor. His ego, charisma and ability to generate press for himself left others in the S.C.L.C. suspicious of his ambitions and led to clashes, even with Dr. King.” His account of King’s assassination and his public persona led to a split with some of those who had also worked closely with King. However, Jackson continued civil rights and social justice work for decades.

⚫️ He ran for president twice and earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom: He ran for president, in 1984 and 1988. In 2000, President Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Jackson is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Jacqueline, their five children, and a daughter. In a statement, his family said, “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.”

Learn More:

• The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died at 84 (AP)
• Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon, dies at 84 (ABC News)
• Biography of Jesse Jackson (Stanford University, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute)

Image Credit: Library of Congress