From Marching With MLK Jr. To Counseling Bill Clinton, Who Is Reverend Jesse Jackson?

Despite having the odds stacked against him from birth, Reverend Jesse Jackson has always found a way to persist. In fact, the 82-year-old says it was the children who bullied him for being born out of wedlock that motivated him to reach the heights he has. Jackson was born on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina to a 16-year-old who got pregnant by her married 33-year-old neighbor. The situation was anything but average, but somehow, they made it work. His mom, Helen Burns, settled down with another man who adopted Jackson, passing down his last name. The activist’s birth father, Noah Louis Robinson, was still part of his son’s life, giving him two men to go to for paternal advice.

Jackson’s ancestry is a true mixed bag, including Cherokee Native Americans, Black slaves, Irish plantation owners and even a Confederate sheriff. He attended the racially segregated Sterling High School in Greenville, proving to be a leader early on as he was elected class president. Jackson spent his younger years living under Jim Crow laws , sitting at the back of the bus and using separate water fountains until 1955. Amid the racial tension, he focused on sports, eventually earning a football scholarship to the University of Illinois – a predominantly White school. As Jackson accepted this, he shot down an offer from a minor-league professional baseball team, proving his versatility as an athlete.

Before Ministry, Reverend Jesse Jackson Was an Ambitious Student Athlete

After a brief stay in Illinois, Reverend Jesse Jackson transferred to a mostly Black school, the Technical College of North Carolina in Greensboro. There he was quarterback of the football team and student body president, continuing his streak of success in unofficial office. When he wasn’t on the field or hitting the books, the father of six got involved with the civil rights movement as an undergrad. In 1965 he connected with Martin Luther King Jr., joining his hero to march in Selma, Alabama; the twosome became fast friends, and Jackson started working at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Though the former admired the latter, he reportedly had concerns about Jackson’s ambition and attention-seeking tactics.

In the second half of the ’60s, the Straight from the Heart author moved to Chicago where he studied at the Theological Seminary on a scholarship. Just three classes shy of earning his master’s degree, the former politician heard the call to fight for civil rights full-time. To aid the local Black community, Jackson played a pivotal roll in opening a Chicago branch of SCLC’s economic arm, Operation Breadbasket; he served as the organization’s national director until 1971 when he formally resigned over accusations of using resources for personal gain.

The 82-Year-Old Has Faced His Share of Controversy

This wasn’t the only controversy Reverend Jesse Jackson faced while in the public eye. He was with MLK Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee on the day of his assassination (Apr. 4, 1968); as Britannica notes, his exact location during the tragedy has long been a point of speculation. Rather than play into the drama overshadowing his friend’s tragic death, Jackson moved forward in his fight for equality and freedom. In 1971, he founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), another Chicago resource advocating for Black self-help and other liberal views.

Just over a decade later, the South Carolina native made his first bid for the Democratic Party nomination. While Jackson shared his criticisms of the Reagan administration, people called him out for making disparaging comments about New York’s Jewish community. Elsewhere, his friendship with Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam was called into question, leading the aspiring POTUS to distance himself and apologize for his remarks. Overall, Jackson placed third in primary voting, marking the strongest showing ever by a Black candidate.

Though he didn’t make it to the White House, Reverend Jesse Jackson carried on fighting the good fight through the 80s and 90s. His second presidential bid was in 1988, coming in second to Michael Dukakis; he never threw his hat in the ring for president again, but the 82-year-old has made appearances and powerful speeches at the Democratic National Conventions over the years. He was a “shadow senator” for many years, and even helped negotiate the release of American soldiers and civilians in countries like Syria, Iraq and Yugoslavia.

The CNN series Both Sides with Jesse Jackson ran from 1992 until 2000, giving the former football star a chance to change people’s perspectives. He and Bill Clinton became friends during the latter’s term in office, with Jackson being named a special envoy to Africa by the President and Clinton leaning on his new pal during his impeachment hearings. While he previously dropped out of school, in 2001, the minister was granted a Master of Divinity degree from his Chicago alma mater. Sadly, this long-awaited moment was overshadowed by backlash after it was revealed Jackson fathered a child out of wedlock.

He Continues to Show up for the Democratic Party While Battling Parkinson’s

Like most Black icons, Revered Jesse Jackson has his haters, but he also knows what an important and lasting imprint he’s had on the civil rights movement. Being POTUS wasn’t in the cards for the former TV host, but his two attempts at being nominated by the Democrats in the 80s paved the way for Barack Obama’s arrival in office in 2008. His son, Jonathan Jackson, is a current member of the US House of Representatives. Before that, Jesse Jackson Jr. served from 1995-2012, proudly following in his father’s footsteps. At the 2024 DNC, longtime voters were happy to see the reverend make an appearance after unveiling his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, giving him a standing ovation. That, in tandem with a COVID-19 battle in 2021 has left Jackson in a wheelchair, but he still looked dapper as ever in his blue suit while supporting Kamala Harris.