Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson 1941 - present
Jesse Jackson is well known for his connection to Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. That organization was essential to activists winning many of the Civil Rights victories throughout the 60s. But Jackson’s activism and influence on the Democratic Party are notable in their own right.
While PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) is originally the brainchild of a Dr. King program named Operation Breadbasket, the merger between Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition (forming the Rainbow PUSH Coalition) would not have been possible without Jesse Jackson.
Operation Breadbasket aimed to focus on social justice while maintaining its roots in faith. Operation Breadbasket hoped to positively effect economic, education, and social policy in the United States. With Jackson at the helm, Operation Breadbasket gained support in Chicago. But the assassination of Dr. King prompted Jackson to found PUSH a few years later.
As summarized by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, “In 1984, the National Rainbow Coalition was formed in Washington, DC following Reverend Jackson's first presidential campaign. Rainbow's focus was to unite progressive people, historically locked out of the mainstream of American politics, into a "coalition of conscience" dedicated to making America more inclusive. In 1996, the National Rainbow Coalition and Operation P.U.S.H. were merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition with international headquarters in Chicago.
We will never know the type of leader Jackson would have been in the White House, but his international diplomatic resumé is impressive and he should receive more credit for his negotiating bona fides. He successfully (and most impressively, independently) negotiated the release of a U.S. fighter pilot being held in Syria, three U.S. soldiers captured in the Kosovo conflict, two dozen other Americans held in Cuba on drug charges, as well as 27 Cuban political prisoners.
