Family, former presidents and a Hall of Famer give Rev. Jesse Jackson a final sendoff toggle caption Erin Hooley/AP The rare qualities that distinguished the Rev. Jesse Jackson — his fortitude as a civil rights leader, and the love he shared as a mentor, a friend and father — were praised time and again on Friday, as his family and a roster of luminaries, including three former U.S. presidents, ga...
Family, former presidents and a Hall of Famer give Rev. Jesse Jackson a final sendoff toggle caption Erin Hooley/AP The rare qualities that distinguished the Rev. Jesse Jackson — his fortitude as a civil rights leader, and the love he shared as a mentor, a friend and father — were praised time and again on Friday, as his family and a roster of luminaries, including three former U.S. presidents, gathered for Jackson's funeral service on Chicago's South Side. Repeatedly, it came down to three words that Jackson made famous. "I am! Somebody!" the crowd chanted in the House of Hope megachurch, repeating Jackson's belief that every person matters, no matter their race or economic standing. Sponsor Message "He paved the road," former President Barack Obama said. He noted that Jackson brought social change, and also proved, in the 1980s, that a Black presidential candidate could be taken seriously. "His voice called on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope, to step forward and say, 'Send me,'" Obama said. "Wherever we have a chance to make an impact, whether it's in our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, our cities." Jackson's son, Yusef, gave vivid detail to Jackson's commitment to helping those who need it most. "I intend to die with my shoes on," Yusef Jackson said, quoting his father's refusal to let health problems stop him from aspiring to help people in war-torn Ukraine, and Americans struggling with food insecurity. Along the way, Yusef Jackson said, his father also managed to find time to share his love for his children and grandchildren. "Keep hope alive," Yusef Jackson said in closing, echoing another of Jesse Jackson's mottos. Speakers emphasized Jackson's message of hope throughout the service, especially as some referenced the Trump administration. Obama said "it's hard to hope" when "every day you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible. Each day we're told ... to fear each other, to turn on each other and that s...