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CHICAGO (AP) — In a heartfelt tribute overflowing with emotion, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gathered to honor their father’s indelible legacy just a day after his passing. From fond recollections of his legendary stubborn determination to moments filled with tears as they mourned the loss of a parent, the tribute was as much a celebration of his life’s work as it was a personal farewell.
Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the civil rights movement, succumbed on Tuesday at his Chicago home after a prolonged struggle with a rare neurological disorder that impaired his mobility and speech. On the steps of this very home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, shared their memories. They spoke of his profound impact on civil rights and his enduring influence as a spiritual guide and loving father.
Yusef Jackson, the youngest of the siblings, described their father as a man unwaveringly committed to public service. “He dedicated his life to gaining, protecting, and defending civil and human rights, striving to make our nation better, our world more just, and our communities more compassionate,” he said, his voice occasionally breaking with emotion.
Plans for memorial services were announced, with his body to lie in repose for two days at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Chicago headquarters, an organization he helped establish. A public event titled “The People’s Celebration” is scheduled for February 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church with a capacity for 10,000 attendees. The subsequent day will see the “homegoing” services at Rainbow PUSH.
Jackson’s journey into the annals of civil rights history began six decades ago as a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a participant in the historic voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King later entrusted Jackson with the mission to lead Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, an initiative by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference aimed at urging companies to hire Black employees.
Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was killed.
Remembrances have poured in worldwide for Jackson, including flowers left outside the home where large portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed. But his children said he was a family man first.
“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his eldest child, Santita Jackson, said. “It was his charge to keep.”
His children’s reflections were poetic in the style of the late civil rights icon — filled with prayer, tears and a few chuckles, including about disagreements that occur when growing up in a large, lively family.
His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”
The family asked only that those attending be respectful.
“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said. “His last breath is not his last breath.”