Jesse Jackson’s lyrical swagger and political ‘juice’ resonates as students learn about his legacy

A few days after the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death, teacher Erik Young pulled up a quote from the civil rights leader in his classroom at King College Prep High School.

“I was born in the slum, but the slum wasn’t born in me,” the line on the screen read. Young asked his students to think about what it meant.

Hands shot up in the air in the North Kenwood classroom. "It means you don’t have to be a product of your environment,” one student said in a quiet but confident voice.

To Raqeebat Bankole, a junior, it meant if you have a good mindset, “you can succeed in anything,” no matter where you started. That idea resonated with her.

Like many of her classmates, Raqeebat wasn’t all that familiar with Jackson’s work before he died Feb. 17. But after her class embarked on a crash course on Jackson’s life over several days, she and her classmates came away with a newfound respect for what he accomplished.

“Now that I’ve learned about him, he’s really impressive,” Raqeebat said.

Or, as another student put it: “That man was a boss.”

The lessons happening at King are one example of how a new generation is learning about Jackson and identifying with him in their own ways. Students in Young’s class connected with Jackson’s lyrical turns of phrase, likening his swagger to that of a hip-hop artist, and admired the fearlessness with which he fought for the Black community.

The students sat facing each other on either side of the screen with the Jackson quotes, forming a sort of semi-circle that allowed the discussion to flow freely. Young, in a white, yellow and green tie-dye King College Prep T-shirt, alternated energetically between standing and sitting. He encouraged all his students to speak up, calling on not only those with raised hands but also those trying to hide in their hoodies.

Young, a social science teacher, has taught at King for 18 years. He included mentions of Jackson and his work in Chicago in his lessons before, but after Jackson’s death, Young decided it was time for his world studies class to take a deeper dive.

“Many of the students here really had not heard of him, and it's no fault of their own,” Young said.

King College Prep is a selective enrollment school on Chicago’s South Side. It’s only a few blocks from the headquarters of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Jackson frequently spoke at the school, notably after the 2013 murder of Hadiya Pendleton, who was a student there.

Chicago Public Schools includes material on Jackson and Rainbow PUSH in its vetted Skyline curriculum, which is used by many schools across the district. But officials say they plan to expand those offerings.

Starting in school year 2027, the district’s social science curriculum will include a new unit titled “Resistance Through Coalition Building,” which the district said will explore Jackson’s legacy.

“This unit challenges students to define what solidarity looks like, sounds like, and feels like across communities,” a CPS spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said schools across America should teach about Jackson’s work - but added he hopes those lessons include conversations about the media’s role in how Jackson was viewed.

“All of our schools across the state of Illinois and this country should highlight the impeccable legacy of Rev. Jackson,” Johnson said. “If we’re going to teach the legacy of Rev. Jackson, we should also be especially critical of how mainstream, corporatized presentation can demonize someone who is, quite frankly, is one of the most dynamic human beings to ever walk the planet.”

Junior Ke’miah Richardson said she admired Jackson’s bravery after reading about the setbacks he faced, such as his two unsuccessful presidential runs.

“I feel like that takes a lot of courage, especially if you didn’t get it the first time,” Ke’miah said. “That stuck out to me.”

Young’s class also discussed Jackson’s diplomatic efforts to free hostages abroad. Several students were amazed that Jackson influenced world affairs despite not holding an official political office. They said he had “juice” — slang for power.

Damiyah Eberhart, another student, was drawn to Jackson’s poetic language because it was a reminder of the musical history that connects Black communities, like hip-hop.

“It was kind of his way of showing his love for his own community in his speeches,” Damiyah said.

Though Young didn’t grow up in Chicago, he has his own memories of Jackson. He remembers watching Jackson on TV as a child in Philadelphia and being awestruck by Jackson’s command of a crowd.

“I was always enthralled and inspired by that,” Young said.

Young hopes that by learning of Jackson’s trajectory, today’s high schoolers will understand “that they can break out and create their own path.”

That was true for Damiyah, who left feeling motivated after the lessons in Young’s class.

“It will make me want to do more, especially as a Black youth,” Damiyah said. “Getting out there kind of protesting, spreading my name across my community, anything to get my community the glory that it deserves.”

Contributing: Mariah Woelfel