(AFP) – Three former US presidents gathered for a public memorial service to civil rights leader Jesse Jackson on Friday, marking the life of a pillar of the struggle for civil rights after his death at age 84.
Former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden were to address a crowd of hundreds as a stylized, blue-lit image of Jackson was projected on a giant screen behind an altar in a Chicago venue. A choir sang as attendees photographed a large panel emblazoned with one of Jackson’s mantras, “keep hope alive.” Among the other speakers due to address the memorial were former vice president Kamala Harris, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Jackson, who died on February 17, was a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s and remained a prominent voice of African Americans on the national stage for more than six decades. In 1960, he participated in his first sit-in in Greenville and then joined the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights marches in 1965, where he caught King’s attention.
Jackson, a Baptist minister, later emerged as a mediator and envoy on several notable international fronts. He became a prominent advocate for ending apartheid in South Africa and in the 1990s served as presidential special envoy for Africa for Bill Clinton. Missions to free US prisoners took him to Syria, Iraq, and Serbia. He founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization focused on social justice and political activism, in 1996. He is survived by his wife and six children.
© 2024 AFP
