A WREATH FOR JESSE JACKSON 

Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist, politician and priest, dies at 84

The passage of the American civil rights icon, Mr Jesse Jackson, is a globally significant event. In his life’s work, Jackson became a symbol of black civil rights activism and quest for inclusiveness in America’s badly segregated society. The fulfilment of his struggle came with the election of Mr Barack Obama as the first black president in the United States. It therefore came as no surprise that Jackson, along with other prominent black elite like Andrew Young, Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey and late John Lewis, broke into tears of joy at the first inauguration of Obama who then went on to win re-election four years later.

In his tribute, President Bola Tinubu has, most appropriately, described Jackson as a servant-leader who fought for the dignity of black people, the oppressed and the voiceless in the United States and across the world. “As a student in the United States in the 1970s, I lived in Chicago, the same city where Reverend Jackson fought the most important battles against injustice,” said Tinubu who described the deceased civil rights icon as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa and a formidable voice against apartheid in South Africa. “I witnessed firsthand how, as a faithful servant of God and humanity, he pointed the arc of American society to the great promise of the American dream.”

A priest by calling, Jackson followed in the tradition of activism blazed by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr to whom he was a close associate. He was also a colleague of other leading lights of the civil rights movement. Throughout his life, Jackson stood out in his oratorical flourish and sharp intellect. Starting as a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded by Martin Luther King, Jackson was present during the 1968 assassination of the former. He then led the Chicago branch of Operation Breadbasket before establishing Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity). After King’s assassination, Jackson came to occupy a preeminent position that combined political activism with the fight for the civil rights of black Americans.

From his Chicago base, Jackson was for several years a powerhouse of sorts. Subsequently, he moved his base to New York from where he took shots at the highest political office in the country. In 1984 and 1988, Jackson sought the Democratic presidential ticket. Although he lost on both occasions, Jackson became the first African American to mount a serious presidential challenge within a major platform, securing in the process millions of votes that would pave the way for future politicians like Obama and Kamala Harris.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson was ordained in 1968 and received a Master of Divinity in 2000. But he never at any period restricted himself to the pulpit. He had global appeal and presence and used both on many occasions to play diplomatic roles for his country. For instance, Jackson helped to negotiate the release of American hostages in Serbia, Iraq, Syria and Cuba while President Bill Clinton appointed him America’s envoy to Africa. But despite his political efforts, Jackson was better recognised as a leading civil rights figure throughout his life and he played the role with distinction.

The irony of Jackson’s life is that he passed on at a moment in American history when the White House is occupied by a president whose views and policies have divided the nation along racial lines. He has therefore bowed out at a period when his kind of civil rights activism is in increasing demand. Yet it must be acknowledged that when the moment called him to serve his nation and race, the late Mr Jesse Jackson answered boldly. May God comfort the family he left behind.