The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., a towering figure in the fight for civil rights, is being honoured in his home state of South Carolina, where he will lie in state at the Capitol on Monday.
This final tribute marks a profound contrast to his childhood in segregated Greenville, where the very institutions now honouring him once denied him basic rights.
Born in South Carolina, Jackson’s lifelong crusade for equality began in 1960.
As a high school student, he led seven Black peers into a whites-only library branch, which was far better funded than its segregated counterpart. Their peaceful sit-in, where they read books and magazines until arrested, ultimately led to the closure and subsequent desegregation of the branches. This pivotal act launched his career, drawing the attention of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose historic Selma to Montgomery voting rights march Jackson would later join.
Throughout his distinguished career, Jackson championed the poor and underrepresented, advocating tirelessly for voting rights, job opportunities, education, and healthcare.
Through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he transformed calls for Black pride and self-determination into tangible pressure on corporate boardrooms, pushing for a more open and equitable American society. He emerged as a torchbearer for the Civil Rights Movement following King’s assassination and later sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
Jackson remained deeply connected to his home state, notably pushing in 2003 for Greenville County to recognize the federal holiday honoring Dr. King. In 2015, he was a vocal advocate for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds, following the tragic racist shooting that killed nine Black worshippers in a Charleston church.
Jackson passed away on Feb. 17 at the age of 84, after a battle with a rare neurological disorder that impacted his mobility and speech in his later years.
The South Carolina services are part of a two-week series of events, which began with his body lying in repose at his Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Chicago headquarters.
Following the South Carolina tribute, he will return to Chicago for a large celebration of life and final homegoing services. Plans for a service in Washington, D.C., have been postponed. He is only the second Black man to lie in state at the South Carolina Capitol, a distinction previously held by State Senator Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the 2015 Charleston church shooting.
