Reverend Jesse Jackson
Born in South Carolina in 1941, Baptist minister Reverend
Jesse
Jackson is one of America's most influential civil rights
leaders. After rejecting an athletic scholarship because
of the preferential treatment of whites, he joined Martin
Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) as an undergraduate.
In 1967, he was named head of SCLC's Operation Breadbasket.
Jackson was present when King was assassinated in 1968.
In later years he founded Operation PUSH (People United
to Save Humanity) and the Rainbow Coalition. Jackson campaigned
for president in 1984 and 1988, and has mediated international
disputes throughout his career.
Resources for Teachers
and Students
Reflections on Working
Towards Peace