10 facts about the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his connection to Chicago you might not know

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon, died Tuesday at age 84. Jackson called Chicago home for decades, building an organizing machine in the city and influencing generations of young Black leaders.

Here are a few things you may not know about him:

1. He had his sights set on Chicago at a young age

Jackson was born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, a deeply segregated time and place. But his uncle, Henry Williams, lived at 61st Street and South Vernon Avenue and worked in the U.S. Postal Service’s Englewood station.

At 15, Jackson’s mom let him visit the city. He was amazed he could go sit and eat at the lunch counters on Cottage Grove Avenue.

2. He was a star athlete in high school

At 6 feet 2, Jackson was a three-letter in high school, earning varsity letters in baseball, basketball and football.

In 1959, he received an athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

3. His early activism helped desegregate libraries

While home from college over holiday break, Jackson tried to check out a book from the whites-only branch of the Greenville Public Library. Two police officers threatened to arrest him.

The next summer, he returned to the library with seven of his friends and refused to leave. Police arrested the group, who became known as “The Greenville Eight,” on disorderly conduct charges.

A subsequent lawsuit forced Greenville libraries to desegregate. Instead, Greenville closed all its public libraries until pressured to reopen.

4. He was a famed orator but got a D in public speaking

Jackson left Illinois after his sophomore year and transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

After graduation, Jackson, his wife and daughter moved to 68th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue, and he began studying at the Chicago Theological Seminary in Hyde Park.

He was a good student but got a D in preaching because he refused to write out his sermons ahead of time.

5. He was there when MLK was assassinated

Jackson was a young lieutenant to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1965, Jackson was moved by television coverage of police attacks on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama.

He got 30 fellow students to drive down south with him and join King in his march from Selma to Montgomery.

Soon after, Jackson started working for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, eventually leading its Operation Breadbasket — a national effort aimed at getting the dairy, soft drink and supermarket industries to hire more Black workers.

Jackson also helped lead marches for King’s open housing campaign in Chicago.

On April 4, 1968, Jackson was standing in the parking lot of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when King walked out onto the balcony and invited him to dinner.

Seconds later, a shot rang out. King had been assassinated. 

Jackson went back to Chicago and appeared on television in the same bloody tan turtleneck he had on the evening before, claiming he had cradled King’s head as he died. The claim drew criticism from King’s inner circle.

6. Saturday mornings at Jackson’s Operation PUSH were a hub for Black political power

After King’s death, Jackson broke ties with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1971, he launched Operation PUSH.

Saturday morning forums at PUSH became a community mainstay, attracting block club members, grassroots leaders and organizers alike.

Oprah Winfrey visited before she became a household name. Michael Jordan played in basketball games that support PUSH. West Sider Danny Davis spent many a Saturday there before he became a member of Congress.

Harold Washington announced his successful candidacy as the first Black mayor of Chicago on the PUSH stage. In many ways, the organization served as an outlet for Black political frustration with the Chicago Democratic Party machine.

7. He ran for president twice

In 1984, Jackson launched a historic campaign for president of the United States. He was the second Black person to ever run for the Oval Office and did well in primaries, garnering 21% of the vote.

He decided to run again in 1988 and did even better, earning 29% of the primary ballots.

Though his campaigns were unsuccessful, Jackson had formed a “rainbow coalition” of Blacks, whites, Latinos, LGBTQ people and others with progressive politics and inclusivity.

In 1996, he transformed his Operation PUSH into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

8. He changed the way the DNC awards delegates

In 1988, Jackson pushed the Democratic Party to change the way it awards delegates.

He ended up securing about 1,000 delegates during his campaign but was shut out of some states with winner-take-all primaries.

He lobbied the party to change its rules allowing candidates with at least 15% of a state's overall vote to get a share of its delegates.

9. He advocated for human rights on a global stage

In the late 1970s, Jackson became a force on the international stage, often acting as an advocate and mediator.

He spoke out against “ungodly” apartheid in South Africa and condemned U.S. financing of anti-Sandinista insurgents in Nicaragua.

He met with Fidel Castro in Cuba and negotiated the release of 22 American prisoners. He would later negotiate the release of U.S. soldiers in Syria, Iraq and Yugoslavia.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed him as special envoy of the president and secretary of state “for the promotion of democracy in Africa.”

Jackson was also a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights. Just two years before his death, Jackson went to Chicago’s City Council to show support for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

10. He paved the way for scores of Black politicians and activists

Jackson helped lift up generations of young Black leaders.

Former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton are just some of the many who saw Jackson as a mentor.

As a young organizer former President Barack Obama would attend Rainbow PUSH events. In a statement released Monday, Barack and Michelle Obama thanked Jackson for his lifetime of service.

“We stood on his shoulders,” they wrote.