Early life
Jesse Louis Jackson was born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina. His mother was Helen Burns, and his father was Noah Robinson. When Jesse was 3, Burns married Charles Jackson. Jesse's stepfather legally adopted him when Jesse was a teenager.
The Jacksons were poor, and Jesse began working as soon as he was old enough. He also followed his mother's example of helping old people in their neighborhood. The Jacksons often ran errands for their neighbors and read aloud to those who had never learned to read.
In high school, Jackson was a good student and a star athlete. He played quarterback on a state championship team. He won a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, but he felt that he was not treated fairly there. Jackson maintained that he was not allowed to play the quarterback position because he was African American. He soon transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro. After graduating from college Jackson studied religion at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He became a Baptist minister in 1968.
Career
Civil rights
While in college Jackson became involved in the civil rights movement. At the time, African Americans in the United States were often denied their civil rights. They were treated differently than whites and they were not allowed to use the same public facilities or attend the same schools in parts of the country. Civil rights activists wanted African Americans to have the same rights that whites enjoyed. Jackson took part in sit-ins (a type of protest in which the protesters refuse to leave a business or public place) and other protests. In 1964 he became director of the southeast division of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). CORE was an important civil rights group that brought students and young people into the battle for the equality of all races.
In 1965 Jackson traveled from Chicago to Selma, Alabama, during a major campaign to register black voters. Jackson met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in Selma. The two became close associates.
King asked Jackson to organize and lead a boycott of A&P grocery stores in Chicago. A&P refused to hire black workers or buy its goods from companies owned by African Americans. Jackson persuaded people not to shop at those stores. A&P finally agreed to change its policies. Jackson began organizing similar boycotts across the country.
In 1971 Jackson founded the group People United to Save (or Serve) Humanity (PUSH). That group helped African Americans to get jobs and to open businesses. Jackson also concentrated on keeping troubled youths in school. He addressed such issues as drug use and violence in city neighborhoods.
Politics
In the 1980s Jackson loudly criticized President Ronald Reagan's policies. In 1983, wanting to defeat Reagan, Jackson became the first serious African American candidate for president. Lacking support, he bowed out of the race. He ran for president again four years later. That time Jackson won several state primary elections in an effort to become the candidate of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party chose Michael Dukakis as its presidential candidate, however.
In 1990 Jackson became an unpaid senator for Washington, D.C. He could not vote in Congress, but he encouraged the lawmakers to fight poverty and support civil rights.
Jackson also showed concern for human rights—the rights of all people, including those outside the United States. He spoke out against apartheid—a system that kept blacks and whites apart—in South Africa. He worked with several nations to free political prisoners and hostages as well. For example, in 1990 Jackson convinced Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to release U.S. hostages being held in Iraq.
Honors
During his career Jackson received more than 40 honorary degrees. In 2000 President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That medal is the highest nonmilitary honor awarded by the U.S. government.