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on a documentary for Britain’s Channel 4 network, who Rainbow PUSH and the Family Legacy
were being held in Liberia. He traveled extensively in the
Middle East and Asia and was a special guest of President
Fernando Cardoso of Brazil to honor Zumbi, the leader
of slave revolts that led to the end of slavery in Brazil.
On November 2, 1985, Reverend Jackson joined the
120,000-strong demonstration in London’s Trafalgar
Square to protest apartheid in South Africa. He declared
South Africa to be “a moral disgrace” and called for
divestment in the Apartheid nation and for the South
African government to free Nelson Mandela.
Rev. Jackson’s global appeal against Apartheid helped
ignite the Free South Africa Movement of that decade.
In February 1990, Jackson was among the first to greet
Mandela as he emerged from Victor Verster prison.
At home as abroad, Jackson was not afraid to call out
what he considered his own country’s international sins.
On February 16, 2003, Rev. Jackson gave the keynote
address at a rally in London’s Hyde Park attended by over
1 million people protesting the expected invasion of Iraq
by the United States.
In August 2007, Equanomics—UK invited Rev. Jackson
to help launch the new organization in a historic nine-
city UK tour. It coincided with the 200th anniversary
of the abolition of the Slave Trade Act in Britain. At the
conclusion of the tour, Rev. Jackson joined international
dignitaries in the unveiling of the statue of Nelson
Mandela in London’s Parliament Square.
In 2009, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown bestowed
the “Global Diversity and Inclusion Award” on Rev.
Jackson at 10 Downing Street. In January 2008, Rev.
Jackson delivered the international keynote address on
the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi at an event
in New Delhi, India, marking the 50th anniversary of
Gandhi’s martyrdom. The global event celebrated the
strength of non-violent, peaceful protest that Gandhi
demonstrated in his uncompromising quest for peace
and justice.
uring Reverend Jackson’s visit to Memphis, he
Dspent meaningful time at the home of Reverend
Samuel “Billy” Kyles and his wife, Gwen Kyles, where
a simple gathering by the pool became a meeting of
minds and purpose. In that moment of fellowship, ideas
flowed about how to strengthen Operation Breadbasket,
deepen its economic impact, and mobilize communities
around justice and opportunity. The Kyles family offered
not only their home but their unwavering commitment
to the movement—creating a space where faith met
strategy, and vision met action. It was in moments like
these, marked by sincerity and shared conviction, that
the seeds of enduring social change were planted and
PUSH was born.
From its earliest days, PUSH served as a platform for
empowerment and education. It urged African Americans to build economic strength, to buy Black, to bank Black,
and to believe in the power of unity. Reverend Jackson’s message was clear: self-help and social justice were not
opposing ideals—they were partners in liberation.
In 1975, the organization launched PUSH-Excel, an educational initiative that encouraged young people to
pledge to academic discipline and personal excellence. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it,
I can achieve it,” became a rallying cry in classrooms across America. Supported by the President Jimmy Carter
Administration, PUSH-Excel transformed communities by instilling hope, responsibility, and discipline in the lives
of thousands of students.
By 1984, as the moral and political landscape shifted, Reverend Jackson broadened his vision from economic
inclusion to political empowerment. During his historic presidential campaign, he founded the National Rainbow
Coalition, an alliance of Americans of every race, faith, and background—bound together by a shared belief in
justice and opportunity for all.