Journey 
Chicago faced a huge loss on February 17th, and that was the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson. Although Jackson’s roots were in Greenville, South Carolina, the activist and legend undoubtedly left his mark on the Windy City’s historical archives.
Did you know that Jackson ran for president twice? In both 1984 and 1988, he became the first Black candidate to seriously contest a major-party nomination, laying the groundwork for the election of our first Black president, Barack Obama. Additionally, causing a political ripple effect for other Black candidates to demand and claim spaces in fields not designed to accommodate Black lives, let alone voice and opinion.
Or were you aware how deeply intertwined his sociopolitical work was in Chicago? After a life of advocacy and service in the South, Chicago became the center of Jackson’s moral and political world, not just where he’d been based since 1966. This is evident in one of his most notable acts of service, the establishment of The Rainbow PUSH Coalition. I’m almost positive every Chicago kid has seen that colorful logo at least once in their lifetime.
The nonprofit organization was an advocacy in its purest form. Rainbow Push, formed in 1966, fights for social justice, civil rights, and political activism, with a steady emphasis on equality and economic empowerment for marginalized communities. The coalition was a merger of two, once separate organizations founded by Jackson, Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) (1971) and the National Rainbow Coalition (1984). This combination emerged from a social justice movement that sought to address the educational, social, and economic inequity and inequality faced by African Americans.
With a mission centered on voting rights, promotion of policies that support economic empowerment, education initiatives for underprivileged youth, and affordable healthcare access. Rainbow PUSH has been instrumental in raising awareness on critical issues and barriers restricting and affecting minority communities, through the organization of numerous annual events, like the PUSH Convention, which focuses on health inequity, leadership development, and wealth building. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is just one of the many ways Jackson and his efforts lived to be a vital force in the fight for civil rights and social justice.
“My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected and the despised” – Reverend Jesse Jackson, 1984.
Chicago is undoubtedly a living archive of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s influence, not a memorial but a continuation. Educate yourself, embrace Blackness, give love and grievance, and Happy Black History Month.
By Journey Powell, Senior, Spelman College
Instagram: journeyaliah
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