High-profile and ordinary people alike have been pouring in condolences and memories after the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson on Feb. 17. Celebrities, politicians, and representatives from numerous organizations have paid tribute to the man who told the world to believe “I Am Somebody” and motivated them to “Keep Hope Alive.”
“When I was a junior in high school, we were called to an assembly to listen to Jesse Jackson speak,” media mogul Oprah Winfrey said in a Facebook post. “His speech had a profound effect on me when he said: ‘Excellence is the best deterrent to racism.
Therefore, be excellent. Excellence is the best deterrent to sexism. Therefore, be excellent. In all your doing and being, strive for excellence.’ I wrote those words down and later turned them into a poster in my bedroom. They became a daily mantra for me. When I became a young reporter, he was my first interview with a “national” figure. He inspired hope that will live on as he rests in peace.”
Winfrey’s sentiments were echoed around the nation and world as news of Jackson’s passing made headlines. Many remembered his efforts alongside other civil rights luminaries, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rev. Hosea Williams, and Amb. Andrew Young, now one of the few left from those important years. But Jackson left an indelible mark on a younger generation that came up watching him campaign for president.
“I vividly remember sitting in our family room as a nine year old watching his 1988 DNC speech,” wrote Grammy-winning R&B artist John Legend, “It was amazing to see a politician light up the room in the way he did. It was affirming to see a Black man — with the cadence of the Black preachers I grew up watching — speaking and giving hope to this multi-racial crowd of delegates.”
But there were some who used their influence in the public eye to help win the battles that Jackson fought.
“I’m so privileged to be able to say that I was on tour with the Reverend Jesse Jackson to several cities with large Black populations rallying to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday,” said R&B icon Melba Moore in a statement. “I usually opened the rally with my version of ‘Lift Every Voice And Sing,’ ending with the long high note. He said it was comparable to his now legendary slogan, ‘Keep Hope Alive.’”
Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition also made its mark in Hollywood. In 2017, at the Cannes Lions festival, Jackson put pressure on the film industry — and Silicon Valley — for a lack of diversity and encouraged advertisers and marketers to create positive messages for people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community.
“You can change the world, your platform is powerful, and your power to do good is immense,” he said at the time.
Though not an actor, Jackson was no stranger to the camera, having made a cameo appearance on a 1989 episode of “A Different World,” playing himself. His daughter, Ashley Laverne Jackson, will now reportedly be a staff writer on the sitcom’s planned Netflix sequel show, according to Clutchpoints.com.
Filmmaker Tyler Perry is one Hollywood power player who has taken up Jackson’s charge for years, having built his own production studio in Atlanta. He posted on Instagram after hearing of Jackson’s passing: “A life that inspired and a voice that will echo forever. I can only imagine the Civil Rights reunion on the other side! May God carry you to good rest my friend.”