The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Resolution
WHEREAS, It is with great pleasure that the members of City Council of the City of Chicago are hereby informed of the life of the dedicated public servant the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, one of America's foremost civil rights, religious, and political figures;
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson has been called the "Conscience of the Nation" and "the Great Unifier," challenging America to be inclusive and to establish just and humane priorities for the benefit of all. He is known for bringing people together on common ground across lines of race, culture, class, gender and belief. Over the past forty years, he has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice; and
WHEREAS, Born on October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jesse Jackson graduated from the public schools in Greenville and then enrolled in the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He later transferred to North Carolina A&T State University and graduated in 1964. He began his theological studies at Chicago Theological Seminary but deferred his studies when he began working full-time in the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was ordained on June 30, 1968 by the Reverend Clay Evans of the historic Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and received his earned Master of Divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson began his activism as a student in the summer of 1960 seeking to desegregate the local public library in Greenville and then as a leader in the sit-in movement. In 1965, he became a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was soon appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to direct the Operation Breadbasket program; and
WHEREAS, In December of 1971, Reverend Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago, IL. The goals of Operation PUSH were economic empowerment and expanding educational, business and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and people of color; and
WHEREAS, In 1984, Reverend Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization based in Washington, D.C devoted to political empowerment, education and changing public policy. In September of 1996, the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to continue the work of both organizations and to maximize resources; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson's two presidential campaigns broke new ground in U.S. politics. His 1984 campaign registered over one million new voters, won 3.5 million votes, and helped the Democratic Party regain control of the Senate in 1986. His 1988 campaign registered over two million new voters, won seven million votes, and helped boost hundreds of state and local elected officials into office. Additionally, he won historic victories, coming in first or second in
46 out of 54 primary contests. His clear progressive agenda and his ability to build an unprecedented coalition inspired millions to join the political process; and
WHEREAS, He is known as a renowned orator, author, and activist, Reverend Jackson has received numerous honors for his work in human and civil rights and nonviolent social change. In 1991, the U.S. Post Office put his likeness on a pictorial postal cancellation, only the second living person to receive such an honor. He has been on the Gallup List of the Ten Most Respected Americans for more than a dozen years. He has received the prestigious NAACP Spingarn Award in addition to honors from many prestigious institutions of higher learning, hundreds of grassroots, civic and community organizations from coast to coast; and
WHEREAS, As a highly respected and trusted world leader, Reverend Jackson has acted numerous times in the capacity as an international diplomat in sensitive situations. For example, in 1984 Reverend Jackson secured the release of captured Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria, and the release of 48 Cuban and Cuban-American prisoners in Cuba. He was the first American to bring home citizens from the UK, France, and other countries held as "human shields" by Saddam Hussein in Kuwait and Iraq in 1990. In 1999, Reverend Jackson negotiated the release of U.S. soldiers held hostage in Kosovo; and
WHEREAS, A hallmark of Reverend Jackson's work has been his commitment to youth. He has visited thousands of high schools, colleges, universities and correctional facilities encouraging excellence, inspiring hope and challenging young people to study diligently and stay drug-free. Reverend Jackson has also been a consistent and vigorous supporter of the labor movement in the U.S. and around the world; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963. They have five children: Santita Jackson, Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Esq., and Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Jr; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and members of the Chicago City Council assembled this 11th day of September 2013, do hereby congratulate Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., on his years of dedicated public service to United States of America and to the world, and hereby express our best wishes for his health and happiness; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
William D. Burns Alderman, 4,h Ward City of Chicago