He Was Somebody: Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Work That Changed Chicago

Posted by Emma Young

He was Somebody - and taught us all that we, too, are somebody. RIP Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson. Someone pointed out that the post I initially wrote was more or as much about me as it was about him. That was a fair criticism, especially because there is so much that could be said about him. When he first came to Chicago, with Dr. King, there were supermarkets throughout the South Side and not one Black cashier, not one Black butcher (the butcher counters were in the back of the stores) and perhaps one stock boy in some of the stores; there were no Black CTA drivers, and once I had to take something to a CTA corporate office and there were no Black employees. In fact, if you walked downtown you would seldom see a Black face. Jesse Jackson began having boycotts of those stores. He is the reason for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. When Jesse Jackson came to Chicago he was only 23 years old, yet thousands, maybe millions of Black people have benefited. He had brilliant ideas, and could have been a multi-millionaire himself if he had gone into the corporate field, but he chose to serve the people. And not only Black people. He believed in the rainbow. He went overseas and negotiated to get hostages free. He had PUSH Expo, where Black businesses were able to showcase their products and services - and at EXPO he had a booth that showcased Black history, Black inventors. Now we take it for granted that we know Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light, and Dr. Charles Drew discovered blood plasma; and the many, many other Black inventors. But that information was unknown back then. Black history wasn't even a thing back then. He also created PUSH Excel, a program where he worked with Black parents and teachers to make sure Black children excelled in school. The gang members trusted him, and he had forums for them. He fought for Blacks to get into the trade unions, and had lawyers offer free services to people who couldn't afford lawyers or had legal questions and nowhere to go. I believe they were every Tuesday evening after 5 pm. I'm not sure of the day and time, but they were there. Rev. Jackson didn't just talk the talk - he walked the walk. PUSH was People United to Serve Humanity, and he served humanity well. Great job, Rev. Now go Rest in Paradise and take your rightful place among the Ancestors. And say hello to Bob Dale when you get there.