The Rev. Al Sharpton said Tuesday that Jesse Jackson was to him what Martin Luther King Jr. was to Jackson — a mentor and father figure who showed him how to effectively advocate for marginalized people.
Hours after Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84, Sharpton reminisced about Jackson’s impact on the world, from rescuing hostages abroad to running for president back home.
”I’m not talking about someone who was some removed figure in history,” Sharpton told reporters at a Manhattan news conference. “He literally changed American politics and New York politics. I’m going to make sure as long as I’m alive that he gets the credit.”
Sharpton was just a 14-year-old boy preacher when Jackson, a King lieutenant, tapped him to be the youth director of the Brooklyn branch of Jackson’s Operation Breadbasket economic empowerment campaign.
Rev. Jesse Jackson (L) and Rev. Al Sharpton arrive at NYPD headquarters on March 26, 1999, for a protest against the shooting of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo. (HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Like Jackson, Sharpton had grown up without his father around and the two made a connection that lasted more than 50 years.
Sharpton credited Jackson for keeping him grounded, active and aware.
“I went from being bitter to trying to be better,” Sharpton said. “He taught me that it’s not how you’re born, but where you go.”
Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson appear onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Jackson went all the way to the top of the national Democratic Party as the presidential front runner in 1988 until he lost the nomination to Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.
Sharpton said Jackson’s historic campaigns paved the way for David Dinkins to become New York City’s first Black mayor in 1989 and for Barack Obama to become the nation’s first Black president in 2008.
”He literally changed the party,” Sharpton said. “He registered so many new voters that had not been calculated before.”
Rev. Al Sharpton speaks to reporters about Jesse Jackson Tuesday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sharpton spoke warmly about the Christmas holidays his family spent at Jackson’s home in Chicago, and the little things he learned from Jackson in private moments and in 6 a.m. phone calls.
“He was never threatened by people older than him or younger than him,” Sharpton said..”He just kept his eyes on the prize”