I just thought, in light of his passing this week, it would be good to revisit the last time I spoke to Jesse Jackson. It was back in 2015.
It was at an important moment for South Carolina — his state and mine. The S.C. Senate had just voted to unconditionally remove that imitation Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. As senators emerged from the chamber, I saw him among them. Here’s how I wrote about it at the time:
I was also a little surprised that I was the only media type to call out, “Rev. Jackson,” which brought him over to speak with me. Maybe some of those young media folks don’t know who he is.
Of course, I was more interested in what the senators had to say, but they were all occupied at the moment and, after all, Jesse Jackson is, like me, a South Carolina native. I was curious how he felt about his state today — or at least the SC Senate….
So he came over and started talking. You can hear what he said above. I’m glad I called out to him.
And I’m glad he spent those 84 years on this Earth, doing the best he could to make a positive difference for us all. He wasn’t Martin Luther King, but he was there with him when it mattered, and had been for years, and he was committed to justice and compassion, and he stayed that way.
And I thank him for that.
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I went to the Democratic ‘presidential candidate speaking event in 2020, volunteering for Joe Biden. We were to march into the convention center holding signs as Joe was being introduced. Joe was the last speaker. As we waited for the other umpteenth candidates to speak, I wandered around the outside of the center. I passed by this gentleman sitting on a bench tucked amid bushes and against the wall. He was all alone and I thought to myself he looked a lot like Jesse Jackson. But who would leave Jesse Jackson alone on an out-of-the-way bench? So I kept walking. A few minutes later a big black SUV drove up and several men walked toward this gentleman and escorted him to the SUV.
It was Jesse Jackson.
Dang, I coulda stopped and chatted a few minutes with him.
Dang.
Thanks so much for sharing this. He was not only eloquent but also knowledgeable about history and financial matters.
One thing to note, Jackson was with King when it mattered. When just standing beside him and being with him meant putting his life on the line considering the death threats and the very real likelihood, which King talked about, of his life being taken when he was out and about.
It takes some real guts to be right there with someone who you know well is being targeted.