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Founder and President
RainbowPUSH Coalition, Inc.
jacksonThe Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., Founder and President of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, is one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures. Over the past forty years he has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice.
Reverend Jackson has been called the "Conscience of the Nation" and "the Great Unifier," challenging America to be inclusive and to establish just and human priorities for the benefit of all. He is known for bringing people together in common ground across lines of race, culture, class, gender and belief.
Reverend Jesse Jackson began his activism as a student in the summer of 1960 seeking to desegregate the local public library in Greenville, and then as a leader in the sit-in movement. In 1965 he became a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was soon appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to direct SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket program. In December of 1971, Reverend Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago, IL. The goals of Operation PUSH were economic empowerment and expanding educational, business and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and people of color. In 1984, Reverend Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a national social justice organization, based in Washington, D.C, devoted to political empowerment, education and changing public policy. In September of 1996, the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH merged in the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to continue the work of both approaches and to maximize resources. Long before national health care, a war on drugs, direct peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, ending apartheid in South Africa and advancing democracy in Haiti became accepted public policy positions, Reverend Jesse Jackson advocated them. Reverend Jackson’s advocacy on these and other issues helped bring the American public to a new level of consciousness. Reverend Jackson’s two presidential campaigns broke new ground in U.S. politics. His 1984 campaign registered over one million new voters, won 3.5 million votes, and helped the Democratic Party regain control of the Senate in 1986. His 1988, campaign registered over two million new voters, won seven million votes, and helped boost hundreds of state and local elected officials into office. Additionally, this civil rights leader won an historic victory, coming in first or second in 46 out of 54 primary contests. His clear progressive agenda and his ability to build an unprecedented coalition inspired millions to join the political process.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2015 SHARE
Baltimore Cops Charged Without Fear or Favor
Marilyn Mosby's decisive action gives people in Baltimore some hope for justice, and officials and people across the country an example to emulate.
Baltimore Cops Charged Without Fear or Favor
Marilyn Mosby's decisive action gives people in Baltimore some hope for justice, and officials and people across the country an example to emulate.
Thursday, September 25, 2008 SHARE
Bail Out on this Bailout-- Join Rev. Jesse Jackson at US Treasury Protest Friday Sept. 26 12 noon
Are we witnessing the death of the republic? Sound hysterical? Look at how Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson proposes to govern the $700 billion "" some $2,000 for every man, woman and child in America "" that he wants to bail out the banks.
Bail Out on this Bailout-- Join Rev. Jesse Jackson at US Treasury Protest Friday Sept. 26 12 noon
Are we witnessing the death of the republic? Sound hysterical? Look at how Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson proposes to govern the $700 billion "" some $2,000 for every man, woman and child in America "" that he wants to bail out the banks.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 (34 comments) SHARE
Reflections on September 11
We must take clear stock of where we are and what we must do, for much has been lost over these last seven years.
...we ignored Dr. King's realization that a society focused on war abroad would be less able to deal with its own problems at home; that the bombs dropped on foreign battlefields would explode also in the neglect of America's cities.
Reflections on September 11
We must take clear stock of where we are and what we must do, for much has been lost over these last seven years.
...we ignored Dr. King's realization that a society focused on war abroad would be less able to deal with its own problems at home; that the bombs dropped on foreign battlefields would explode also in the neglect of America's cities.
