Rev.JesseJackson
Rev.JesseJackson |
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|
| Ruled
out 2000
presidential bid on March 24, 1999 in a statement posted on the
Rainbow/Push
Coalition website and on Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s website, as
well
as in an appearance at the LaSalle Street Project luncheon in
Chicago.
PROFILE |
| Current | Founder and President
of the Rainbow/Push Coalition.
Special Envoy for the President and the Secretary of State for the promotion of democracy in Africa--appointed to the uncompensated post as a special government employee in October 1997. Host of "Both Sides with Jesse Jackson," which airs weekly on CNN. |
| Career | In 1996,
following election
of his son Jesse Jr. to Congress, Jackson moved his base of operations
back to Chicago, merging the National Rainbow Coalition and Operation
PUSH.
In 1990 was elected "Statehood Senator" in Washington, DC. Active in international affairs--secured release of Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria in 1984, as well as release of Cubans in 1987; brought hostages out of Kuwait and Iraq in 1990. Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, won about 7 million votes, finishing first or second in 46 out of 54 contests. Founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a national social justice organization, in 1986. Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, won 3.5 million votes. Founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago on December 25, 1971. Organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; national director of SCLC Operation Breadbasket. |
| Activities | Author of three
books: Legal
Lynching (Marlowe & Co., 1996), Keep Hope Alive (South
End
Press, 1989) and Straight from the Heart (Fortress Press, 1987).
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| Education | Attended the
University
of Illinois from 1960-61 on a football scholarship, then transferred to
North Carolina A&T State University; graduated with a B.A. in
Sociology,
1964. Attended the Chicago Theological Seminary until joining the
civil rights movement full time in 1966.
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| Family | Married
Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963. Five children: Santita, Jesse
Jr,
Jonathan, Yusef and Jacqueline.
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| Age | 57 years old. Born October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina. |
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Readings Marc Cooper. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Jesse Jackson's Journey to 2000." The Nation, August 24, 1998. > PBS Frontline's "The Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson"--airdate May 30, 1996. > |