Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, and Others Share Tributes to Late Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson has died at age 84.
Jackson was a two-time presidential candidate and a protege of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was present at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in April 1968 when Dr. King was assassinated. Jackson soon emerged as a powerful figure in the next generation of the civil rights movement, advocating for voting rights, economic justice, better health care and education, and other reforms.
Barack Obama calls Rev. Jesse Jackson ‘a true giant’
Jackson’s family announced his death on February 17.
“Reverend Jackson, the esteemed founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, transitioned peacefully on early Tuesday morning, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy that has forever redefined the moral and political fabric of our nation and our world,” read a statement shared on Instagram.
Jackson, who was born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, dedicated his life to “advancing equality, dismantling systems of oppression, and amplifying the voices of the underserved,” the statement added.
News of Jackson’s death was met with an outpouring of tributes from political leaders. Barack Obama said he and his wife Michelle Obama were “deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a true giant.” Joe Biden remembered him as a “mentor, friend, and hero,” while President Donald Trump called him a “a good man” who had “grit” and “street smarts.”
Viola Davis, Tyler Perry pay tribute to civil rights leader
Celebrities joined in with their own tributes to Jackson.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson remembered him as “our Profound Leader and Champion of Justice.”
“May we all join together and keep Reverend Jackson’s Hope Alive,” he added in his Instagram post.
Director Tyler Perry shared a photo of himself with Jackson. “A life that inspired and a voice that will echo forever,” he wrote in the Instagram caption. “I can only imagine the civil rights reunion on the other side! May God carry you to good rest my friend.”
Oscar-winner Viola Davis shared a clip from Jackson’s famous “I Am Somebody” speech on her social media. (Common, Mahershala Ali, and Colman Domingo also shared the same clip on their Instagram Stories.)
“Well… Rev. Jesse Jackson has joined the Ancestors,” Davis wrote. “The very breath in the lungs of this country. He’s part of the long line of heroes who shifted and shaped this nation toward its promise. We were their dream… our lives were THEIR dream. They understood God’s assignment.”
Tina Knowles, the mother of Beyoncé, said that Jackson’s words made a significant impact on her life.
“Rest in peace, my strong, beautiful black brother. You deserve the rest,” she wrote on Instagram. “Reverend Jesse Jackson, who coined the phrase. ‘I Am Somebody’ that speech was absolutely powerful for Black people and their pride. So many of us were told from childhood that we are nobody and that we don’t count. So what a reaffirming statement!!! I am somebody I might be black. I might be poor, but I am somebody.! Today post about this leader give him his flowers.”
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