Last Friday (March 6), the memorial service for the late Reverend Jesse Jackson was robust, befitting his long life as a global fighter for civil rights. But remarks by his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., sparked some controversy as they contained a swipe at three former Democratic presidents who attended – Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton.
“I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson,” he began while speaking at the final memorial service held on Saturday (March 7) at the headquarters for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago, Illinois.
He continued: “He maintained a tense relationship with the political order, not because the presidents were white or Black, but the demands of our message, the demands of speaking for the least of these—those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected—demanded not Democratic or Republican solutions, but demanded a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time sold us out as a people.”
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Jackson, Jr. had been adamant in a press conference held after the Rev. Jackson Sr’s passing that those slated to be attendees “do not bring your politics” to the memorial service. The three former Democratic presidents were key attendees of the service, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris and the Reverend Al Sharpton, along with other dignitaries.
Obama paid homage to the civil rights icon, lauding Jackson for his presidential campaigns in the 1980s, which set the path for his own successful presidential runs in 2008 and 2012. He also celebrated Jackson for leaving a “legacy of hope,” contrasting it to the current climate today. He did call out President Donald Trump without mentioning him, noting that Jackson inspired “calls on each of us to be heralds of change.”
The swipe by Jackson Jr. was in contrast to how he opened his eulogy on Friday, joking about the presidents running over time. He currently is running to regain his former seat in the House of Representatives; he resigned in November 2012, just before being convicted of campaign fraud, which led to his serving 17 months in prison.
