A Tribute to Jesse Jackson

As we reflect on Black history and the people whose courage moved this nation closer to its ideals, we also pause to honor a life that helped shape those chapters in real time.

Rev. Jesse Jackson was a drum major for justice who changed what millions of people believed was possible. He taught us that dignity had to move beyond feeling and into participation.

When he declared “I am somebody,” that wasn’t ego, he was turning affirmation into participation. Demanding we know our worth, then use our voice, our vote, and our presence to shape the country that sought to ignore our brilliance and contributions since its founding.  

After witnessing Dr. King gunned down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, he picked up the mantle and helped carry the movement forward. He refused to let it settle into memory. Instead, he pressed a generation toward organized power

His presidential campaigns then forced the nation to confront that demand. Standing on the shoulders of Shirley Chisholm, he expanded the electorate by bringing new voters into the process and normalized the idea that national leadership could look like all of the people it serves. 

Long before we had an acronym for diversity, equity, and inclusion, he was on the front lines, holding corporations and systems of governance accountable because access, fairness, and representation were necessary for people to live with dignity

His passing during Black History Month feels less like coincidence and more like reminder, that the history we honor was shaped by hands still within living memory. He was not just confined to its pages, he helped bend its direction. And in doing so, he left us with a responsibility, not to merely celebrate progress, but to continue it, to guard it, and to push it forward when it meets resistance.