Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse L. Jackson (Photo: United States Library of Congress)
North Carolina leaders are remembering the life and legacy of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who died Tuesday at the age of 84.
Jackson, who followed in the footsteps of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and spent a lifetime advocating for racial justice and voting rights.
The civil rights icon’s path passed through North Carolina in 1960. Jackson transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU in Greensboro, from the University of Illinois-Champaign shortly after the A&T Four’s sit-in protest at the Greensboro Woolworth’s.
North Carolina A&T Chancellor James R. Martin II says Jackson left an indelible mark on the university.
“Aggie Nation mourns the loss of our friend and international force for equality and justice, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.,” Martin said in a statement.
Jackson graduated from North Carolina A&T in 1964 with a B.S. in sociology. A year later he traveled to Selma, Alabama, to march with King and became a worker in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Bishop William Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach and architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement, called Jackson a gift from God.
“[Jackson] was a witness that God exists in the ways he cared for and lifted all people, the way he called forth a Rainbow Coalition of people to challenge economic and social inequality from the pulpit to a historic presidential run, the way he dared to keep hope alive whenever the nation struggled,” Barber said in a statement.
Barber said that when he was a college student, Jackson was his mentor and continued to walk alongside him through his own public ministry.
“May we all take up his hope for the America that has never yet been, but nevertheless must be,” Barber said.
Former U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who represented North Carolina’s 1st District for almost two decades, reflected on the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco, where he served as a Jackson delegate.
“During Jackson’s presidential campaign, there was a significant increase in voter registration that resulted in African Americans being elected to municipal and county offices across North Carolina,” Butterfield said in a statement released by the North Carolina Democratic Party.
Butterfield said history will record how Jackson challenged America to be politically inclusive and provide greater protection for the most vulnerable.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee (NC-04) said she was saddened to hear the news of his passing on Tuesday.
“His decades of fighting, sacrifice, and activism strengthened our communities and helped build a better future for generations to come,” Foushee said in a statement to Newsline. “He will be greatly missed, and my thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.”
Durham County commissioner Nida Allam, who faces Foushee in the 4th congressional district’s Democratic primary, remembers Jackson as a person who had a deep faith that the country could be better.
“His Rainbow Coalition changed not just the face of American politics but its heart. His vision for a multiracial, multiethnic, multi-faith movement marching hand-in-hand is the direct inspiration for our movement today,” Allam wrote in a social media post.
Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper and Coastal Carolina University political scientist Gibbs Knotts co-authored an article for The Conversation on how Jackson was shaped by his Southern roots and how his own life reshaped American political life.
“Jackson’s background reinforced the importance of the Black church in Black political mobilization,” wrote Cooper and Knotts. “Perhaps most importantly, Jackson expanded the size and diversity of the electorate and inspired a generation of African Americans to seek office.”
Former Democratic Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper praised Jackson Tuesday as a constant voice for justice.
“Jesse Jackson dedicated his life to breaking down racial barriers, bringing hope and building an America where everyone has an opportunity to succeed,” Cooper said on social media. “May he rest in peace and may we all strive to continue his mission.”
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