Jesse Jackson, the founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition (a Chicago-based civil right organization he established in 1971), will be stepping down from his leadership role soon.
A spokesperson for Jackson’s son, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, confirmed the news Friday,According toThe Associated Press.
Jackson will announce his retirement Sunday during the organization’s annual convention, Rep. JacksonYou can tell them by clicking on the linkThe Chicago Sun-Times
The elder Jackson, before former President Barack Obama was the most successful Black United States Presidential candidate. In 1988, he won 13 primary and caucus elections for the Democratic Party nomination. Jackson’s son said his father’s “mark upon history” will be his relentless fight for civil rights.
Jackson will turn 82 in October, and he has continued his activity on the civil rights front despite the onset of Parkinson’s disease, a gallbladder surgery in 2021, COVID-19 and a 2021 fall that resulted in a head injury.
After Floyd’s murder by a black police officer in 2020, Floyd attended a memorial to George Floyd. A wave of protests in the United States occurred after the brutal police display.
Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network considered Jackson his mentor, saying: “The resignation of Rev. Jesse Jackson is the pivoting of one of the most productive, prophetic, and dominant figures in the struggle for social justice in American history.”
Jackson’s legacy dates to his work on the staff of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1971, Jackson formed Operation PUSH – People United to Save Humanity – after leaving the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The organization, based on Chicago’s South Side, was later renamed Rainbow PUSH Coalition to recenter itself around fighting for minority rights as well as voter registration for communities of color.
Chicago will host the convention this weekend.
