Takeaways from Rev. Jesse Jackson's memorial: Tough love about voter apathy, emotional send-off

What a day.

Let me explain. The five-hour memorial to the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Friday could be viewed through so many lenses, but one that stands out is that the death of the civil rights leader comes as many of the gains he helped win have been or are the brink of being wiped out.

That’s why so many of the speakers from the political world — former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ex-vice President Kamala Harris and the Rev. Al Sharpton for example — used the occasion to rally the thousands at the aptly named House of Hope arena: They paid homage to Jackson by urging them in one way or another to seize the moment.

That this was all about President Donald Trump and his drive to whitewash slavery, eliminate DEI, deport immigrants, give preference to white immigrants from South Africa and more blatant racist moves did not have to be said.

It was understood.

Here are my takeaways:

The Rainbow Coalition lives

The day was a tribute not only to Jackson, but to the movement he created and the city that was his home through the decades in which he was a powerful political force — in Chicago, nationally and globally. The day was also a recognition of the important role Black clergy plays in Chicago. And the memorial, which drew thousands of people, also showed that our Chicago community wanted very much to be a part of Jackson’s sendoff. Sometimes, you just have to show up.

Gathering of our tribes

Jackson’s memorial was a gathering of many tribes. The Chicago politicians, never ones to miss a good funeral were there, including three Daleys — Rich, Bill and John — and the three front-runners in the Democratic Senate primary, Julianna Stratton, Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“What happened to us?”

Sharpton made the most pointed call to action, delivering a heavy dose of tough love aimed at Black voters who did not support Kamala Harris in her 2024 race against Trump. “And there was a breakout in 2024 called Negro amnesia, where you forgot where you came from and forgot how you got where you got. Therefore, they are trying to take back everything you have."

“The problem is not Trump, the problem is us,” he said. “We are allowing ourselves to be lowered and our children to feel inferior 'cause you don’t have an ‘I am somebody person.’ … What happened to Black and proud. … What happened to us?

Sharpton, referring to the November midterm elections, said, “We got to win. … We didn’t come this far to turn around now.” He ended with the call, “We won’t go back.”

Obama tackles Trump in his own way

Folks may often wonder why Obama does not do more to hit Donald Trump, given the stakes are so high. Obama always is stingy and careful using his political power, picking his spots, but he came through on Friday — though never using Trump’s name.

“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope. 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 it, to things you just didn’t think were possible," said Obama, whose 2008 campaign slogan was “Hope and Change.”

Obama’s advice comes as Trump is destroying norms and threatening our democracy and the roles of our courts and Congress.

“So it may be tempting to get discouraged, to give in to cynicism," he said. "It may be tempting for some to compromise with power and grab what you can, or even for good people, to maybe just put your head down and wait for the storm to pass.

"But this man — Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson — inspires us to take the harder path. His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope.”

Reality check

It’s worth noting that in this arena, on a day created to honor a civil legend whose work is being systematically destroyed by Trump, sat three Trump opponents: Hillary Clinton, sitting next to Kamala Harris, and a few seats down, Joe Biden.

Biden was folksy, but his point was clear. “We’re in a tough spot folks. We’ve got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have,” he said. “And I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit.”

Harris showed off buttons she kept from Jackson’s presidential campaign. At the start of her speech, she couldn’t resist. “I predicted a lot of what’s what’s happening right now. I’m not into saying ‘I told you so,’ but we did see it coming,” she said.

“But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us to get through this.”

Isiah Thomas’s emotional send-off stood out

Thomas, the Chicagoan and NBA Hall of Fame member, told the story of how Jackson lifted him up when he was a kid, “when society was telling me I was a nobody. … Mama Jackson, your husband kneeled down, and he looked me in the eyes, and that man said, 'You are somebody.’"

Thomas said he wanted to honor “the five presidents who are sitting here today.” He counted Biden, Clinton and Obama and added Hillary Clinton and Harris, all seated in the same row.

It was a bittersweet observation about what could have been for Hillary Clinton and Harris, both failing in their bids to be the first female president in the history of the United States. That Trump beat both of them did not have to be said.