Jesse Louis Jackson Essay, Research Paper

Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson is one of America’s foremost political figures. Over the past three decades he has played a major role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice. Jackson has been called the “conscience of the nation” and “the great unifier.” He is the best-known living American leader in the United States.

Jesse Louis Jackson was born on October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina. A woman who did other people’s laundry brought him into this world. The father was her married next door neighbor. Needless to say, Rev. Jackson wasn’t dealt the best hand. But, he overcame the obstacles of a lower middle class family; even though his family was criticized, Jackson is now a national figure. In 1957, his stepfather, a postal worker, adopted him as his own son.

Reverend Jackson finished tenth in his high school class and was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. Later, he left U. I. And enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensburo. There he became class president and the civil rights activist began to show himself to the world. After graduating in 1964, he attended the Chicago Theological Seminary until he joined the civil rights movement full time in 1965. Before graduating he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King Jr. King appointed him to the head of Operation Breadbasket in Chicago.

In 1971 Rev. Jesse L. Jackson formed Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity.) In the 1970s, Jackson traveled throughout the United States in a campaign for education against drug abuse and gangs. In the 1980s Jackson launched the National Rainbow Coalition to campaign for equal rights for African Americans, women, and homosexuals.

Jesse L. Jackson was the breakthrough in black politics. In 1984, he ran for the Democratic candidate for presidency. He got 3.5 million votes and registered over a million new voters. He also helped the Democratic Party regain control over the Senate in 1986. His 1988 candidacy won seven million votes and registered over two million new voters. Jesse Jackson won a historic victory, coming in first or second in 46 out of 54 contests.

Jesse Jackson has acted many times as an international diplomat in sensitive situations. In 1984, Reverend Jackson secured the release of captured Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria, as well as the release of 4 8 Cuban and Cuban-American prisoners in 1987. He was the first to bring hostages out of Kuwait and Iraq in 1990.

In 1990, Jackson was elected the U.S. Senator of Washington, D.C., a position also known as “Statehood Shadow Senator” since the District of Columbia has no voting representatives in Congress.

From humble beginnings came Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, somebody known by the nation and the world as a civil rights leader. His influence has lasted over several decades and is still felt today.