Rev. Jesse Jackson stepped down as leader of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in July after more than five decades of service for racial and economic justice in America.
Jackson significantly influenced the civil rights movement and advocated for minority and underprivileged groups through vigorous political activism.
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Rev. Jackson marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery in 1965 at a time when segregation and racism were rampant in the Deep South. Violent local authorities and white vigilante groups confronted the duo on their demonstrative journey to Alabama’s capital.
It took them three days to arrive in Montgomery under the protection of federalized National Guard troops to raise awareness for the need to pass the Voting Rights Act due to state laws devised to suppress black voters.
Jackson, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), walked with King when the latter was assassinated by James Earl Ray in April 1968 at Memphis’ Lorraine Hotel. Jackson’s shirt was stained by King’s blood as a result of the fatal shooting.
In 1966, Jesse Jackson was appointed by King to manage SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, an organizational campaign tasked with addressing economic poverty suffered by black Americans.
“Breadbasket targeted substandard housing conditions, persistent de facto and de jure racial exclusion and the diversity of products that stocked the store shelves in minority communities,” according to a New York Times op-ed.
Breadbasket would eventually become Operation PUSH and merge with the National Rainbow Coalition in 1996 to become Rainbow PUSH. PUSH stands for “People United to Serve Humanity.”
Operation PUSH pressured many Chicagoans to hire more African Americans and to extend business ties and knowledge to the black community. The non-profit organization also targeted national corporations like PepsiCo to hire more African Americans.
Jackson also led a subsidiary youth program directed to keep kids engaged in extracurricular activities and inspire hard work.
A repetitive word Jackson used in his speeches was “patch”. A patch makes up a quilt, which is where he got the idea to use the word “rainbow” in the re-branded name of Operation PUSH.
The concept of the original Rainbow Coalition organization was to advocate for the rights and interests of underprivileged people from all races, including Latinos, blacks, Native Americans and whites together.
“Man of the People”
Jesse Jackson was and is a “man of the people” who advocated for the enfranchisement of all American citizens, including youth and people of color. His presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 influenced future politicians and high-level political appointees such as former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Housing, Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and political strategist Donna Brazile.
The Times piece states Jackson was the most serious black presidential candidate in American history prior to Barack Obama, who emerged two decades later in 2008. Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns courageously called for an end to U.S. military adventurism in Central America and a halt to nuclear proliferation during the Cold War with Russia.
Jackson’s speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention demonstrates his desire for a national coalition of all races in America to stand together.
Advocacy & influence
The phrase “I am somebody,” recurred in numerous speeches Rev. Jesse Jackson gave as an activist.
Marcia Fudge credits Jackson for his involvement in the passage of the Fair Housing Act, amended by Congress in 1988. Jackson also opened the door for black people like Barack Obama and Kamala Harris to be seriously considered for high political office, such as the presidency.
The senior issues adviser during Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, Robert Borosage, gives credit to Jackson regarding the awareness he raised on children’s issues such as tax credits, paid and medical leave and the expansion of the federal Head Start program.
Jackson advocated for national healthcare that ultimately led to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
“Jackson advocated for gay rights and people with AIDS when it was considered a gay man’s disease. He did so in the face of ‘a hell of a lot of homophobia in the Black community,’ said Ron Daniels, a former deputy campaign manager,” per the Washington Post.
In 1988, Jackson was quoted that, ”Women must have freedom of choice over what to do over their bodies,” and ”it is not right to impose private, religious and moral positions on public policy.”
Conclusion
According to NPR and Chicago Defender, Frederick Haynes II will succeed Jackson and fight for equality, in terms of economic and social conditions, with more inclusion of American youth issues.
Jesse Jackson’s legacy is courageous and innovative in a way that invigorated the civil rights movement, which has now “bleed” into the Black Lives Matter movement.
He pioneered the way for black people to get involved in politics, which creates more influence in public policies that relate to the black community like the Voting Rights Act, Obama Care and the legalization of marijuana.
Jackson’s speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention is described as a brilliant “patchwork quilt” that empowers interdependence among Americans no matter what creed, race, political party, or sexuality, as a quilt makes up a beautiful fabric with different colorful patches.
Featured image by Elvert Barnes via Flickr under Creative Commons license
Edited by: James Sutton
