Jesse Jackson left us today. He was a longtime civil rights activist beginning his career adjacent to Martin Luther King, Jr. He was an politician and Baptist Minister. He was born in Greenville, South Carolina in October 1941 and died this morning in Chicago. He was 84.
In the mid-1980’s, Jackson began seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, and in the wake of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s historic presidential run in the 1970’s, was the second Black person to do so.
There isn’t much I want to write today– the news caught me off guard and I’m resisting the urge to ‘re-write’ his already better written biography posted any number of sites today. Instead I’ll leave you with his opening speech from one of my favorite films, Wattstax (1973). Wattstax was a benefit concert sponsored by historic label Stax Records to commemorate the 1965 Watts Riots in Los Angeles. The day long concert offered a full lineup of Stax recording artists, and the film featured real people talking about their lives and what it meant being Black. Its a superb concert film and time capsule. A must watch.
The Dirty Rat 