The Root of Jesse
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History February 23 - March 1.
When I pass away, I will be fortunate to have one obituary. It will be written by someone close to me, telling of how I spent my days, where I worked and lived, the hobbies I pursued, my sordid affair with the Cleveland professional sports teams, and the loved ones I left behind. It will be just another written remembrance, no different, nothing special of note. Millions of obituaries are published across the country every day, ignored largely by the public, and one day, mine will be among the many.
However, that’s never the case when you are someone of status. There’s never just one obit.
Jesse Jackson passed away last Tuesday. He was 84. He was in poor health for some time. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the same affliction of his father, Noah Louis Robinson, who died in 1997 at the age of 88. His family stated he passed in comfort, surrounded by family.
Jackson’s status in American history is why this edition of Maundy Monday Newsletter is another essay about his life, his legacy, and my reflection on both.
Jackson was born out of wedlock in Greenville, South Carolina, at the beginning of World War II. I mentioned this intentionally because his acceptance of the circumstances surrounding his conception became a core ethos to a man who would become one of the most influential civil rights leaders in American annals.
While Robinson was his biological father, Jackson’s mother married another man, and Jesse adopted his stepfather’s last name while maintaining a close relationship with Robinson. The complicated bonds of Jackson’s parents are the perfect example of how Jesse Jackson viewed the world – he wanted everyone in his life to be connected, respected, and loved.
Jackson was a gifted student in academics and athletics. He finished near the top of his high school class and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. He left after a year and attended North Carolina A&T, where, like me, he was incredibly popular and served as a student government president. After graduating in 1964, Jackson immersed himself in the civil rights movement, participating in the Selma marches and impressing Martin Luther King, who placed him into leadership positions in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Jackson was a member of King’s inner circle and was with him in Memphis on the fatal day in April 1968. After MLK’s assassination, Jackson would attempt to carry out King’s dream of America living up to its promise of creating equal opportunity for all people.
In 1971, Jackson founded the nonprofit, People United to Save (Serve) Humanity (PUSH). He would also begin another nonprofit, the Rainbow Coalition, in 1983. By 1996, he merged the two, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a leading social justice and civil rights advocacy organization.
After Ronald Reagan won the White House in 1980, Jackson continued to rise as an opposition leader to the religious conservatism that was sweeping the United States. Jackson would run for the Democratic party nomination twice that decade, finishing third in 1984, which turned into a Reagan resounding victory, and second in 1988, behind the eventual loser to Reagan’s vice president, George HW Bush.
But it was that run in 1988 that planted a seed which would bear fruit twenty years later – when America finally elected its first black president.
I was twelve during the 1988 presidential election and in the 7th grade. It was this grade that my religious education and faith grew in awareness and intensity (for a teenager) due to the exceptional teacher I had – Regina Courey, a former nun who was a demanding instructor in many subjects, especially religion.
During Advent, as we prepare for God’s incarnation as Jesus Christ, we learned about the concept of “The Root of Jesse.” Its essence is that Jesus can trace his lineage through human history to Jesse, who was King David’s father. Jesus, therefore, fulfils what the prophet Isiah proclaimed that a savior would be: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
Jesse Jackson’s successful ascent from activism to major party politics paved the way for future Democrats like Obama and Kamala Harris to be seen as viable and serious candidates. His positions on lifting up and protecting the poor and working-class citizens didn’t resonate with the electorate until people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren came close to securing the nomination with similar platforms.
His gift as an effective orator helped push a progressive agenda that included positions ahead of their time, such as equality for the LGBTQ+ community, reparations for the descendants of enslaved people, and universal healthcare. He also pushed to cut defense spending and reduce the use of nuclear weapons, positions that were the antithesis of the Cold War era.
Despite his political defeats, Jackson cemented his place as an elder statesman in the Democratic Party. He walked picket lines with striking union workers, he called for a free Palestine, and he negotiated the release of an American pilot held in Syria.
While he received many accolades, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, he was the scorn of right-wing conservative politicians and media mouthpieces. His positions in the Middle East and statements about Jews who live in New York City were controversial and antisemitic. He admitted to an affair, as his mother and father had, and it resulted in the same out-of-wedlock child that stains the religious leader. But Jackson took responsibility for missteps, something his detractors never could be bothered with.
Which is why, reading about Jackson this week, there are numerous references to times when Jesse Jackson made mistakes or was painted unfairly to advance a narrative that served the privileged.
This is the consequence of a life of status. We remembered Jesse Jackson this week, and while you may have read a lot about his flaws, let us not forget the good he did in faithfully serving his country and the God he loved.
Okay, let’s highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events mark their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here’s what I got:
1. The battle of the Alamo began on February 23, 1836. The Alamo Mission was built in 1718, two years after the Spanish government began to expand its influence over what is now South Texas. The Mission served as a hub for the Catholic Church in its efforts to convert native tribes. During the Texas Republic War of Independence, Mexican President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna attacked the 100 Texas soldiers stationed there. The battle lasted 13 days and resulted in Mexico’s victory, reclaiming the site. “Remember the Alamo” became a rallying cry, and a few months later, at the Battle of San Jacinto, a resounding Texas victory secured its independence. Texas has been an unbearable loudmouth about it ever since.
2. The twenty-second amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on February 25, 1951. After a repeated beatdown at the election polls by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Republican Party and 47 Democrats passed an amendment that would prevent future presidents from living in the White House, seemingly forever. It was a top-ten Constitution Amendment in our amendment ranking back in 2023, and I hope it can hold the line in about two years.
3. President John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. In 1957, then-Massachusetts Congressman John F. Kennedy proposed sending recent American college graduates to the Middle East, “bringing technical advice and assistance to the underprivileged.” A few years later, JFK was president and created a federal program that would serve as a mission of democracy worldwide, expanding US influence. Over 240,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps, and the agency currently works in 60 countries. I think I have applied for a few jobs at the Peace Corps over the years, never even got an interview. America apparently likes me right where I am.
I didn’t like Jesse Jackson when I was 12. I also didn’t like strawberries. But both positions flipped over the course of a lifetime. As I have grown up, I have come to accept rather quickly that, as a curious and introspective person, I can afford myself the grace to adopt ideas and positions I didn’t always share.
One example of my change in position is when the Cleveland Indians changed their name four years ago to the Guardians. For many years, I was an adherent Chief Wahoo supporter. But over time, my feelings changed. Mix in a better understanding of the plight of indigenous people, coming to terms with the undeniable racist caricature logo (while watching fellow Indian fans wear red face to games), and many seasons that fell short of winning a World Series, and I was done.
But selfishly, I’m relieved that no one will write about my mistakes or the people that I have upset. We know there will never be a story about any election losses (7-0). That hasn’t elevated me to any status outside of my mind.
Okay! Long MMN this week. That’s what happens when you take a week off to launch the 5th anniversary.
As a reminder, I’ll be publishing a second essay (either rankings, Even More Okay, or perhaps an Ask Me Anything) on Saturday morning. Please let me know if you like the change. Or not. I’m willing to take either!
The snow is back in town, at the beginning of a busy week for me. I hope it’s a good one for you.
Thanks for the support. I’m grateful to you all.
Okay,
Chris
When we were in 7th grade I remember Miss Courey telling us she was so strict because she was Lebanese… it was in her blood.
A couple days later she revisited that statement to clarify that being Lebanese meant her family was from Lebanon. I later found out she had to explain her comment because one of our 7th grade classmates went home and told their parents about it, but mistranslated “Miss Courey is so strict because she’s Lebanese” to “Miss Courey is always mad because she’s a lesbian.”
One of the most lasting achievements of Jesse Jackson was the empowerment mantra "I Am Somebody", which he performed in venues as various as the Wattstax music festival (which he helped organize), and with children on "Sesame Street". It also inspired this popular song, which helped spread the mantra to a wider audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnNOwHBZ04Y