Born October 8, 1941
Greenville, South Carolina

Civil rights leader, politician, and minister

Jesse Jackson was thrust into the civil rights spotlight in the 1960s as an aide to Martin Luther King, Jr., (1929–1968; see entry) and director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s (SCLC) Operation Breadbasket. In 1971 Jackson formed the Chicago-based organization PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity). He vied for the Democratic presidential nomination in both 1984 and 1988.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Jackson continued his civil rights and human rights work: fighting racial discrimination, supporting striking workers, and conducting voter registration drives. He also took on the role of informal international ambassador. In the years spanning 1984 through 1990 Jackson negotiated the liberation of captives being held by the governments of Syria, Cuba, and Iraq. In late 1999 he made national headlines by supporting seven African American youths expelled from a Decatur, Illinois, high school.

Educational achievements