Keep Hope Alive: On the life of Civil Rights and Liberal Democrat icon Jesse Jackson in his 75th Year

On October 8th this year, Civil Rights Movement and Liberal Democrat icon Reverend Jesse Jackson turned 75 years old. At the ripe old age of 75 the Reverend is still active campaigning and getting out the vote. Jackson is often not acknowledged for his great contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and to the US Democrat party but today I want to give Reverend Jesse Jackson his due credit as a living icon of the African-American struggle. Reverend Jesse Jackson has been the successor to Martin Luther King Jnr, the founder of Rainbow PUSH; a transformational Liberal Democrat post-racial movement that would lay the foundations for Obama's post-racial political campaigning in 2008 and a prospective US Democrat Presidential nominee twice, in 84 and 88, the first African-American male to be nominated.

Jackson was born October 8th in Greenville, South Carolina. His mother a teenage student and his father a somewhat older former professional boxer. Up until the age of 12 Jackson was known as Jesse Burns, a name he took from his grandmother. As a boy Jackson was ridiculed by other people in the community for being born out of wedlock and not having a father. When he was 12 years old his mother married and he was adopted by his Mother' husband and given the surname Jackson. Jackson grew up in the segregated South at the time of the Jim Crow laws, he attended a segregated school, was taught to sit at the back of the bus and drink at a racially specific water fountain. At school Jesse Jackson excelled at sports and it is said that he showed presidential and political ambitions as a child by running for President of the student body.

On leaving High School in 1959 Jackson enrolled on a football scholarship at the University of Illinois, a largely white institution but after a short period he left the university because of racism and transferred to North Carolina A&T an historically black college university in Greensboro. On enrolling at the university he pursued a degree in Sociology under a football scholarship and played quarter-back whilst acting as President of the student body. In 1964 Jackson graduated with a degree in Sociology and entered the seminary. It was during this time that he became caught up in the winds of change and dropped out of education to join the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.

A tall, athletic man with a degree level education Jackson soon became a known figure in the movement participating in the Selma marches in 1965 organised by Martin Luther King Jnr. Impressed by Jackson's organisational skills but less so by his sometimes attention grabbing antics King began to involve Jackson in the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and gave him the duty of setting up a branch of the organisation in Chicago. In 1967 Jackson became the national director of the economic arm of the SCLC, Operation Breadbasket. As national director of Operation Breadbasket Jackson led boycotts by black consumers as a way to pressure employers to employ African-Americans in their businesses.

In 1968 Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated in the presence of Jesse Jackson who was on the lower ground floor of the Memphis building when King was shot. Although not besides King when he was shot Jackson is said to have ran up the stairs and held the dying King in his arms. His shirt covered in the blood of Martin Luther King, Jackson appeared in the media. The unfortunate circumstances had now thrust a young Jesse Jackson into the leadership position.

During this period Jackson clashed with older Civil Rights activists who had envisioned themselves as future leaders of the movement in King's demise, however, slowly Jackson took up the mantle as King's predecessor. In 1971 he launched the Black Expo to promote black business; the Expo was attended by African-American businessmen and politicians from across the country including the very influential Chicago Mayor at the time Mayor Harold Washington. One of the most interesting and controversial figures in African-American Democrat politics. Jackson was developing a national profile and began to clash even more with other members of SCLC, eventually Jackson and his team quit the organisation to birth a new organisation, Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity).

In 1971 Jackson launched Operation PUSH with the aim of lobbying politicians and corporations to give jobs and improve opportunities for African-Americans and all poor people regardless of race. The organisation was responsible for pressuring corporations to adopt Affirmative Action policies to hire and buy black, his work would birth the new class of African-American highly paid executives that we see today. As Director of Operation PUSH Jackson would win many gains for African-Americans and low income communities in Chicago and across the US. Gains that could be said to have paved the way for Barack Obama who would later rise up as a political force out of the city that Jackson had made his own, Chicago.

In 1984 Jackson quit as Director of Operation PUSH to run as a Democrat party Presidential nominee. In a speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention Jackson spoke of and called for a Rainbow Coalition; a coalition of African-Americans; Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, youth, the disabled, the gay community, the poor and all minority groups working together to change America. The idea is said to have been initially developed by Black Panther Party member Fred Hampton in the 1960's but Jackson can be credited with making the idea into a political reality. Though unsuccessful in becoming the Democratic parties Presidential candidate Jackson gained momentum across the country with a bigger national profile. After his failed Presidential attempt Jackson built upon the idea of developing a Rainbow Coalition and launched a new organisation, the National Rainbow Coalition.

As the Director of the National Rainbow Coalition Jackson developed a credible opposition to

"Reaganomics" and gathered a substantial following that led him to run as Democrat party nominee in 1988. In a much better place than in '84 Jackson held massive, polished political rallies and delivered his memorable speech line "I understand". In '88 Jackson put up a much better political performance and was second only to Michael Dukasis who would become the Presidential candidate. Although Jackson was unsuccessful in both Presidential attempts he awakened the world to the possibility of an African-American President; made African-American's proud and inspired a young African-American boy called Barack Obama who would one day be President of the United States of America.

In 1996 Jackson merged Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition and launched Rainbow Coalition. Rainbow Coalition would become of the greatest community organising and Civil Rights movements ever with offices in Chicago, New York, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Silicon Valley, New Orleans and Boston tackling issues around economic inequality and economic disparities between African-Americans and White Americans. The economic goals of the organisation aim to get African-American and other minorities onto the payrolls, into the boardrooms and onto the suppliers lists of major corporations.

Apart from his political work Jackson has been a peacekeeper travelling to Iraq to negotiate the successful release of British and US soldiers in 1991; travelling to Cuba to successfully negotiate the release of a number of US prisoners held there in 1984 and travelling to Belgrade to again successfully negotiate with Slobodan Milosevic the release of 3 captured US soldiers in 1999. Jackson was also one of the most outspoken voices against the Iraq war.

Reverend Jesse Jackson has been one of the great

figures of the Civil Rights Movement and Liberal Democratic politics; a giant who deserves much more respect than he is given. If we could all be like Jesse Jackson the world would be a considerably better place. Jesse Jackson has been a massive inspiration to me; my book Community Organizer: A Story of Community Organizing in London sings his praises and speaks fondly of my opportunity to visit Rainbow PUSH offices in Chicago, Washington D.C and New York and my experience sharing a platform with him and hearing his tough stories of Civil Rights activism. I hope now that you know the story of Jesse Jackson you are as inspired as me and Barack Obama to make a difference and change the world.

"I understand - Jesse Jackson, 1988 US Democrat Party nomination speech

KEEP HOPE ALIVE!