{"id":162640,"date":"2026-02-20T14:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/162640\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T14:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:58:12","slug":"the-rev-jesse-jackson-spent-decades-fighting-for-justice-orlando-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/162640\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rev. Jesse Jackson spent decades fighting for justice \u2013 Orlando Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1988, the power brokers of the Democratic Party watched a Chicago civil rights leader, a maverick with a movement he called a \u201cRainbow Coalition,\u201d start to threaten the presidential candidacy of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. They\u2019d expected him to do well with Black voters, but not to win easily the state of Michigan or make major inroads with\u00a0Americans of all stripes.<\/p>\n

The rise of Jesse Louis Jackson<\/a> was viewed with considerable alarm by party pundits and consultants. They feared having no choice but to nominate Jackson for president if he secured the most convention votes. That didn\u2019t happen, but it did establish him as a force to be reckoned with. He used\u00a0 his newfound national power to successfully push for an overhaul of Democratic Party rules. This probably helped set the stage for Barack Obama to become president of the United States.<\/p>\n

Jackson rose to prominence as one of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s inner circle (he\u2019d met King in Selma, Alabama,after Bloody Sunday in 1965) and as a member of the Southern Christian Leadership ConferenceHe went on to lead of not just one but several movements, from Operation Breadbasket and Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) to his National Rainbow Coalition, established in the mid-1980s to campaign for human rights.<\/p>\n

In later years, Jackson never stopped fighting for causes large and small. Though Jackson never lost his power as a warrior on national issues, he also understood the potent appeal of local battles and tragedies. In In 2019, the Tribune editorial board wrote<\/a> about his efforts to bring natural gas to Pembroke Township, population of about 1,800, in Kankakee County. Jackson did not want the residents there, who had seen one broken promise after another, to have to continue to rely on space heaters. This quest was hardly akin to negotiations in the Middle East or the kind of civil rights efforts that made him famous, but it made a big difference if you happened to live in Pembroke Township.rg<\/p>\n

Chicago was the city Jackson most identified with, and where he died Tuesday at the age of 84<\/a>. But\u00a0 Jackson often visited Central Florida, giving stem-winding sermons in Eatonville or Parramore\u00a0 focused on threats to voting rights and the dangers of gun violence. He inspired generations of leaders here, among them state Sen. LaVon Bracy-Davis, whose parents , both civil-rights leaders, were friends with Jackson. Former state Rep. Dick Batchelor travelled with Jackson to South Africa in 1994 to witness the first post-apartheid election there. Six years later, he came to Florida to protest another election, the 2000 contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore.<\/p>\n

Key quotes from the Rev. Jesse Jackson that define his politics and legacy<\/a><\/p>\n

But Jackson\u2019s most defining Florida moment may have come when he stood beside the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin as they protested the reluctance of Sanford Police to arrest the man who\u2019d shot and killed their son on the night of Feb. 26, 2012.That case marked a turning\u00a0 point in Seminole County and throughout the area.<\/p>\n

Jackson, of course, got up in people\u2019s faces, and there were some who did not appreciate his work. He had an uneasy relationship with the Black Panthers, not least because Jackson\u2019s aims were reformist first and (contrary to the stereotype) radicalist second. He mounted an anti-abortion rights campaign after Roe v. Wade, which proved controversial. And he was often a thorn in the side of the white establishment, which sometimes labeled him as an opportunist, or someone whose machinations led to cronyism at best and corruption at worst.<\/p>\n

Those criticisms waned over time, as Jackson\u2019s work helped better the lives of Americans across the country. He spoke on radio shows and at rallies about the need to push for equality. His groups, handed out awards and persuaded big business to hire more Black managers and buy more of the things they needed from Black-owned companies. Many of their boycotts won results, especially the 1982 boycott of Anheuser-Busch. Jackson won his own show on CNN. He even hosted an episode of \u201cSaturday Night Live!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that I\u2019ve done has been in some context,\u201d Jackson said on his 65th birthday in 2007 when asked to weigh his achievements and failings, \u201cand I\u2019m convinced that we look back like the true judge and ultimately you judge yourself by your cumulative box score. It\u2019s not the home run you hit one inning; it\u2019s not the strikeout the next inning. It is the box score. And our box score \u2014 my batting average \u2014 has been one I can accept.\u201d<\/p>\n

We should all agree with that, given that we are unlikely to see his like anytime soon.<\/p>\n

This editorial is adapted from one that originally appeared in the Chicago Tn. The Sentinel sometimes publishes editorials that agree with our own positions. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board includes Executive Editor Roger Simmons, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Send letters to insight@orlandosentinel.com.<\/p>\n

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