A Writer’s Perspective: Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. 1941–2026
Kenneth R. Jenkins
There are certainly not enough words to express about a man who lived through the 1950’s and 1960’s of turbulent times of segregation, civil unrest between the Blacks and Whites citizens, the poor and rich, and an unwanted war in the jungles of Vietnam.
Though all these things that turned our world upside down, there was once a man who tried to help those, even the least of these, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the disfranchised, the single parent who’s trying to make ends meet with many mouths to feed.
All in all, the work he’s done really speaks for itself.
During the 1960’s and 1970’s was going through a mountain of troubles and strife from problems of racism plaguing our streets and schools, as the marchers expressed their discontent with what was going on while searching for solutions, while others were causing the bad trouble with declarations of war coming from their lips when some were trying to get into Good Trouble.
Get Kenneth R. Jenkins’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Keep in mind these words:
That’s just like America. It’s made up of lots of different people. We’re all different colors, different ages, we do different jobs — but it takes all of us black people, white people, brown people, men and women, young and old, working in the factories, working in the fields, working in offices, working in stores — it takes a lot of different kinds of people to get the job done for America. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Jesse Louis Jackson grew up in the South in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, where his activism from Operation Breadbasket to the SCLC to Rainbow/PUSH, he was on the frontlines battling race, hunger, employment, and other issues.
Rev. Jackson wasn’t just a civil rights leader and activist, but a father and grandfather who will be leaving with a legacy that we celebrate his life and work in all he has done.
And now, let’s give Rev. Jackson the last word:
I am — Somebody. I may be poor, but I am — Somebody! I may be on welfare, but I am — Somebody! I may be uneducated, but I am — Somebody! I must be, I’m God’s child. I must be respected and protected. I am black, and I am beautiful! I am — Somebody! Soul Power!
Kenneth R. Jenkins is a freelance writer, poet, podcaster, minister, and student at SNHU and a devoted husband living in Savannah, GA.
