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Jesse Jackson’s life was defined by *** relentless fight for justice and equality. I was born in Greenville, South Carolina, uh, in rampant radical racial segregation. Had to be taught to go to the back of the bus or be arrested. In 1965, he began working for Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. I learned so much from him, such *** great source of inspiration. Both men were in Memphis in April 1968 to support striking sanitation workers. King and other civil rights leaders were staying at the Lorraine Motel. He said, Jesse, you know, you don’t even have on *** shirt and tie. You don’t even have on *** tie. We’re going to dinner. I said, Doc, you know it does not require *** tie. Just an appetite and we laughed. I said, Doc, and the bullet hit. With King gone, his movement was adrift. Years later, Jackson formed Operation Push, pressuring businesses to open up to black workers and customers and adding more focus on black responsibility, championed in the 1972 concert Watt Stacks. Watts. The Reverend set his sights on the White House in 1984. 1st thought of as *** marginal candidate, Jackson finished third in the primary race with 18% of the vote. He ran again in 1988, doubling his vote count and finishing in 2nd in the Democratic race. At the time, it was the farthest any black candidate had gone in *** presidential contest. But 20 years later when President Barack ran, we were laying the groundwork for that season. In 2017, Jackson had *** new battle to fight, Parkinson’s disease, but it did. It stop him. Late in life, he was still fighting. He was arrested in Washington while demonstrating for voting rights. His silent presence at the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers prompted defense lawyers to ask that he leave the courtroom. Jackson stayed from the Jim Crow South through the turbulent 60s and into the Black Lives Matter movement. Jesse Jackson was *** constant, unyielding voice for justice.
Children of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson honor his legacy as memorial services set for next week
Updated: 8:30 PM PST Feb 18, 2026
From jokes about his well-known stubbornness to tears grieving the loss of a parent, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gave an emotional tribute Wednesday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights icon, a day after his death.Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. Standing on the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, remembered him not only for his decades-long work in civil rights but also for his role as spiritual leader and father.“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” said his youngest son, Yusef Jackson, fighting back tears at times.Memorial services were set for next week, with two days of him lying in repose at the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded. A public memorial dubbed “The People’s Celebration” was planned for Feb. 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church with a 10,000-person arena. Homegoing services were set for the following day at Rainbow PUSH, according to the organization.Jackson rose to prominence six decades ago as a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King later dispatched Jackson to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was killed.Remembrances have poured in worldwide for Jackson, including flowers left outside the home where large portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed. But his children said he was a family man first.“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his eldest child, Santita Jackson, said. “It was his charge to keep.”His children’s reflections were poetic in the style of the late civil rights icon — filled with prayer, tears and a few chuckles, including about disagreements that occur when growing up in a large, lively family.His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”The family asked only that those attending be respectful.“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said. “His last breath is not his last breath.”
From jokes about his well-known stubbornness to tears grieving the loss of a parent, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gave an emotional tribute Wednesday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights icon, a day after his death.
Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. Standing on the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, remembered him not only for his decades-long work in civil rights but also for his role as spiritual leader and father.
“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” said his youngest son, Yusef Jackson, fighting back tears at times.
Memorial services were set for next week, with two days of him lying in repose at the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded. A public memorial dubbed “The People’s Celebration” was planned for Feb. 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church with a 10,000-person arena. Homegoing services were set for the following day at Rainbow PUSH, according to the organization.
Jackson rose to prominence six decades ago as a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King later dispatched Jackson to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.
Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was killed.
Remembrances have poured in worldwide for Jackson, including flowers left outside the home where large portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed. But his children said he was a family man first.
“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his eldest child, Santita Jackson, said. “It was his charge to keep.”
His children’s reflections were poetic in the style of the late civil rights icon — filled with prayer, tears and a few chuckles, including about disagreements that occur when growing up in a large, lively family.
His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”
The family asked only that those attending be respectful.
“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said. “His last breath is not his last breath.”
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