Earlier this month, the country mourned the loss of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson. My generation, as well as those that came after me, will recognize his name and the mission to which he dedicated his life. In the 1960s, Jackson worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders, Black and white, during the often-turbulent years of the civil rights movement. Chief among them, that most precious for all Americans: the right to vote.
A native of South Carolina, Jackson began as a Baptist minister, later becoming a protege of Dr. King, and from there would develop into one of the most prominent figures during the civil rights movement well into the 21st century. Among his achievements were the creation of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an organization that worked tirelessly to help the disadvantaged. Jackson would later move into the arena of international affairs in the 1980s, becoming a vocal critic of President Ronald Reagan’s administration.
In 1984, Jackson would launch his own bid to become president. Viewed early on as a fringe candidate, he would prove that he was to be taken seriously, finishing in a respectable third place for the Democratic nomination behind eventual nominee, former Vice President Walter Mondale, and Sen. Gary Hart of Massachusetts. In 1988, in a second bid for the nomination, he would finish second behind Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.
Obviously, Jackson’s life included not only work for Americans’ civil rights and economic fairness but, yes, he played a role in American politics as well. Which brings us to the memorial services held to honor his legacy earlier this month in Chicago.
Among the dignitaries attending were three former presidents: Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Attendees would listen to addresses from the three former presidents and others, including Chicago’s current mayor and pastors who’d worked with Jackson during his many years of public service. But it turns out, the words of the three presidents were overshadowed by those spoken the next day by Rev. Jackson’s son, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
On the Saturday after the memorial, while eulogizing his father before members of Chicago’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Jackson Jr. expressed his displeasure with remarks made by the former presidents. He told those assembled: “Yesterday I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson.” He would add that his father “maintained a tense relationship with the political order, not because the presidents were white or Black, but the demands of our message, the demands of speaking for the least of these -- those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected -- demanded not Democratic or Republican solutions, but demanded a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time sold out as a people.”
Struggling to understand the point he was trying to make, his words begged a reread from me. Keep in mind, his remarks came the day after he listened to three former presidents speak at his father’s memorial. Apparently, Jackson had requested speakers to “not bring your politics, out of respect to Reverend Jackson and the life that he lived.”
Wait, what? Three former presidents are asked to speak at the memorial service for your father, and they’re instructed not to bring politics into the discussion? His father, to the benefit of this country, made political activism a cornerstone of his life. I mean, come on, he ran for president -- twice, so it's fair to say that Jackson Sr. lived and breathed politics. He had to. His life’s mission, working for economic justice for the disadvantaged, meant politics had to be part of the fight. And yet, Jesse Jr. had the temerity to instruct three former presidents not to bring politics into their speeches? Maybe they shouldn’t have been invited.
President Obama never mentioned our country’s current president by name but did say, “Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law. An offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to it, to things you didn’t think were possible.” He didn’t mention Trump by name, but surely those listening were aware of what his words meant.
President Clinton would, for the most part, steer clear of Trump and current politics, choosing instead to share anecdotes about his relationship with Jackson over the years.
President Biden skirted the edge of the Trump presidency, lamenting, “We’re in a tough spot, folks. We got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit.” He went on to say that Jackson was a man who “knew who we were at our best, that he simply refused to let us off the hook as a party, as a nation or as individuals.” Biden nailed it.
I guess their words were too much for Jesse Jr., though. To be fair, playing a prominent role in the party, the elder Jackson was often critical of Democratic Party leaders. And that’s okay. Political differences between leaders in the same party can be healthy, helping to ensure honest debate between different factions within the family.
Still, I couldn’t help but think that the younger Jackson’s words were at least a bit disrespectful. Three presidents of the United States accept invitations to attend memorial services for your father, and you instruct them not to be “political”? Do we really think his father would have missed the opportunity in a similar situation? Not the Jesse Jackson we knew.
Not one of the three presidents said anything so political that it could have been considered controversial. But that didn’t stop conservative media outlets such as Fox News and the New York Post from seizing on Jesse Jr.’s criticism of three former Democratic presidents. They relished the opportunity. Perhaps Jackson Jr. was trying to stir up media attention for his upcoming bid at taking a seat, again, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
It’s worth a reminder: Jackson is a product of political royalty. Without his father’s name behind him, it wouldn’t have been as easy for him to win a seat in Congress when he was elected the first time, in 1995 -- quite the achievement for a 30-year-old. Sadly, though, after word leaked that he was being investigated for financial misdeeds while in office, he would resign the seat. He was later convicted of wire fraud and accused of misusing $750,000 in campaign funds, serving 17 months of a 30-month federal prison sentence for his transgressions.
At the time of his criticisms of the former presidents, Jackson was running for the House a second time, for the 2nd Congressional District in Illinois. That election was held two weeks ago, and he lost his bid for the seat. It would seem that the people of Illinois’ 2nd District didn’t want to hear any more about politics either -- not from Jesse Jackson Jr., anyway.
Elijah Jones is a proud Hattiesburg native who enjoys writing. Email him at edjhubtown@aol.com.
