“No generation can choose the age or circumstance in which it is born, but through leadership, it can choose to make the age in which it is born an age of enlightenment, an age of jobs, and peace, and justice.” – Jesse Jackson
It was the repeated refrain of a poem composed in the 1940s by Atlanta pastor and civil rights activist Rev. William Holmes Borders Sr. But Rev. Jesse Jackson’s call-and-response with a multi-racial group of children on Sesame Street in 1972 made it an anthem for a generation.
I am – Somebody.
Rev. Jackson, who this week announced his retirement from the organization he founded, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition–is not just a beacon of hope or a pillar of strength; he is a trailblazer, a mentor, a friend, and an inspiration to me and countless others.
As a teenage protégé to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson was an eyewitness to some of the most pivotal moments in civil rights history, including King’s tragic assassination in 1968.
“It’s a hurtful, painful thought,” he said, “that a man of love is killed by hate; that a man of peace should be killed by violence; a man who cared is killed by the care- less.”
Jackson’s tireless fight for voting rights, economic justice, and racial equality has left an indelible mark on our nation and has been a guiding force for the National Urban League’s work.
Of that generation who picked up the torch directly from King, only Jackson and Andrew Young remain, carrying it forward to illuminate the path toward justice and equality. When the assassin’s bullet stilled King’s voice, it was Jackson’s that thundered forth, resonating the clarion call for justice well into the 21st century.
In 1984 and again in 1988, I proudly traveled as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention to cast my vote for Jackson. His keynote address at the 1984 convention inspired a generation of young leaders – myself ,…
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