Page 19 - RJLMS - Legacy Program Purple

In 1996, Reverend Jackson merged Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition into one enduring entity:
the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Headquartered in Chicago and spanning regional offices across the country, the
organization became a permanent institution dedicated to equality, education, and economic justice.

The Coalition’s landmark initiative, The Wall Street Project, launched in 1997, advanced what Reverend Jackson
called the “fourth stage of the civil rights struggle—access to capital, industry, and technology.” Through strategic
engagement, Rainbow PUSH compelled major corporations to expand opportunities for minority businesses,
executives, and entrepreneurs.

Beyond economic empowerment, the Coalition became a force for universal healthcare, voting rights, educational
equity, criminal justice reform, and global democracy. It stood with liberation movements from South Africa to
Haiti, reminding the world that the spirit of freedom knows no borders.

In July 2023, after more than fifty years of transformative leadership, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. stepped down
as President of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition following his diagnosis with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a
rare form of Parkinsonism. With characteristic resolve, he called it “a pivot, not a retirement.”

Even as his physical strength waned, his moral fire did not. Reverend Jackson continued mentoring ministers,
organizers, and young leaders—teaching that hope must be organized, faith must be active, and justice must
be persistent. Under his enduring influence, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition continues to champion civil rights,
economic fairness, and human equality.

Though he walked among the wealthy and powerful as easily as he did the weak and penniless, Rev. Jackson did
not shy away from self-reflection to keep him humble and focused. “I am not a perfect servant. I am a public
servant doing my best against the odds,” he told the crowd at the DNC during his historic convention speech
in 1984.

“If, in my low moments, in word, deed, or attitude, through some error of temper, taste, or tone, I have caused
anyone discomfort, created pain, or revived someone’s fears,
that was not my truest self,” Rev. Jackson said at the time. “If
there were occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and
my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my
head and not to my heart.”

In his later years, Rev. Jackson refused to let his declining
health deter him from his work. As he promised in Mascoitras’
book during his prime, “I’ll never stop marching. If I can no
longer march, I’ll still be there somehow. Martyrs comfort us.
Marchers challenge us. Martyrs only require that we look back,
while marchers demand that we move forward.”

And so, with his health and speech deteriorating but his mind
still sharp, Rev. Jackson once again attended the Democratic
National Convention last year. Though he did not speak, he
appeared on stage, in his wheelchair, to thunderous applause.
And earlier this year, despite progressively failing health, he
returned to Selma to commemorate the 60th anniversary
of Bloody Sunday. Composed and resolute, Rev. Jackson
demonstrated as he so often did during his heroic life and
career that, until his last breath, a warrior never rests.