‘Take a Harder Path’: Obama and Biden Pay Tribute to Jesse Jackson as an Inspiration for Action

Speaking at the funeral service of the late civil rights pioneer Reverend Jesse Jackson, former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden on Friday urged Americans to hold on to hope and work to continue Jackson’s legacy of pushing for change.

While neither named President Donald Trump in their remarks, Obama alluded to “those in high office” and the state of American leadership, calling the current moment “a time when it can be hard to hope.”

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“Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day, you wake up to new things you just didn’t think were possible. Each day we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count it all,” Obama said.

“Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength,” he continued. “We see science and expertise denigrated while ignorance and dishonesty and cruelty and corruption are reaping untold rewards. Every single day we see that, and it’s hard to hope in those moments.”

But Obama cited Jackson as an inspiration not to “compromise with power and grab what you can” or “put your head down and wait for the storm to pass,” but rather to “take a harder path.”

“His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope,” the former President said.

Read more: Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader and Presidential Hopeful, Dies at 84

Jackson, who died last month at the age of 84, was a prominent figure of the Civil Rights movement, and a protégé of the late Martin Luther King Jr. In the 1980s, he twice sought the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

Obama recalled watching Jackson speak in presidential debates during those runs. The former two-term president credited Jackson’s efforts, though unsuccessful, for his own ultimate election to the presidency.

“It was because of that path that he had laid because of his courage, his audacity, that two decades later, a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination,” said Obama, who represented Illinois in the Senate from 2005 to 2008. 

Biden took the stage after his predecessor in the White House and spoke about growing up in a segregated Delaware and his relationship with Jackson. Like Obama, Biden spoke about Jackson’s memory as an inspiration to act. 

“Jesse kept hope alive for us in his lifetime, and we’ve got to continue to do it,” Biden said, “because there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. Nothing, nothing, nothing. So stand up and finish his job.”

Read more: What America Loses Without Jesse Jackson’s Voice

Former President Bill Clinton also paid tribute to the late civil rights leader, saying that Jackson “made me a better president because he was always pushing on things.” 

“I ask you to ask yourself how you can do more by being a better friend and a more effective one,” Clinton concluded his remarks at the service.

Speaking next, former Vice President Kamala Harris also briefly alluded to the current political situation in the U.S., beginning by saying that she had “predicted a lot of what’s happening right now,” without directly referencing any specific event or person. 

“I’m not into saying ‘I told you so,’ but we did see it coming. But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us right now to help us get through this,” she continued, before continuing to pay tribute to Jackson’s life and work.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also in attendance at Jackson’s funeral, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Johnson and Pritzker both gave speeches at Jackson’s funeral service.