CONVENIENCE, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS. YOU KNOW, I HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART FOR GREENFIELD AND ADAIR COUNTY. AND EVEN TO COME TO THE MALL, THE SUBURB OF GREENFIELD. IOWANS ARE MOURNING THE LOSS OF REVEREND JESSE JACKSON. AND FOR MANY, IT’S PERSONAL. THIS IS VIDEO FROM JACKSON’S RETURN TO DES MOINES AFTER THE 1988 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. THANKING THOSE INVOLVED WITH HIS CAMPAIGN, JACKSON’S FAMILY SAYS HE DIED PEACEFULLY THIS MORNING, SURROUNDED BY THOSE HE LOVED. HE WAS 84 YEARS OLD AND HAD BEEN BATTLING A LONG TERM BRAIN CONDITION. KCCI SENIOR REPORTER TODD MAGEL JOINS US NOW WITH A LOOK BACK AT HOW IOWA PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN JACKSON’S POLITICAL FAME. TODD. WELL, BEN JACKSON RAN FOR PRESIDENT TWICE, IN 1984 AND 1988, AND BOTH TIMES HIS CAMPAIGN BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN IOWA. GOOD TO SEE YOU, BUDDY. SAME TO YOU. JESSE JACKSON MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST MAJOR BLACK CANDIDATE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. AND IT ALL STARTED IN IOWA IN THE 1980S. LET THE COMMON PEOPLE VOTE TOMORROW MORNING. IN AN UNUSUAL MOVE, JACKSON RAN HIS IOWA CAMPAIGN OUT OF AN OFFICE IN GREENFIELD TO EMPHASIZE THE FARM CRISIS. SAD TO HAVE HIM GO, BUT HE NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE MADE A MARK ON ON OUR SOCIETY AS BIG AS JESSE DID. LONGTIME IOWA POLITICAL CONSULTANT JOHN NORRIS HELPED TO RUN JACKSON’S IOWA CAMPAIGN. THIS IS 84. NORRIS SAYS HIS MESSAGE OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE HELPED HIM EFFECTIVELY COMPETE IN THE IOWA CAUCUSES. WHAT HE SAW IN IOWA WAS HIS ABILITY TO CONNECT AND MAYBE BREAK THROUGH THESE BARRIERS. AND AND IT DID. I MEAN, IOWA PUT HIM IN THE RACE. WHEN I HEARD ABOUT IT THIS MORNING, IT REALLY CAUGHT ME. BUT WHAT A LIFE. WHAT A LIFE TAUGHT. URBAN DREAMS FOUNDER WAYNE FORD HOSTED THE 1988 BROWN AND BLACK COALITION PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AT NORTH HIGH SCHOOL IN DES MOINES. HE MADE US SEE THAT WE’RE ALL AMERICANS. FIRST. HE COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY AT THE IOWA CAUCUS. NOBODY WOULD HAVE CRITICIZED HIM. THE FIRST BLACK MAN RUNNING, COMING TO ALL WHITE STATE. HE COULD HAVE WENT TO NEW HAMPSHIRE, WAS ON THE EAST COAST. HE CHOSE TO COME HERE. HE WAS SENDING A MESSAGE OUT. AND SOME YEARS LATER, PRESIDENT OBAMA WALKED ACROSS THE STAGE. FORD WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER JACKSON’S SIGNATURE LINE AND HOW IT CHANGED AMERICAN POLITICS. I AM SOMEBODY RESPECT ME, PROTECT ME. NEVER NEGLECT ME. MANY YEARS LATER, I’VE HEARD WHITE PEOPLE SAY, I AM SOMEBODY. THAT’S THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HE WANTED, AND THAT’S HIS GREATEST LEGACY. IS TODD. HE BELIEVES IN AMERICA. AND JACKSON’S FAMILY DID NOT REVEAL HIS CAUSE OF DEATH, BUT
Iowans remember Reverend Jesse Jackson’s impact on politics
Reverend Jesse Jackson, who passed away peacefully on Tuesday at the age of 84, is remembered by Iowans for his historic presidential campaigns that began in the state, emphasizing economic and social justice. Jackson made history as the first major Black candidate to run for president, starting his campaign in Iowa in the 1980s. He ran for president twice, in 1984 and 1988, and both times he began his campaign in Iowa. In an unusual move, he ran his Iowa campaign out of an office in Greenfield to emphasize the farm crisis.John Norris, a longtime Iowa political consultant who helped run Jackson’s Iowa campaign, said, “Sad to have him go, but he, you know, not too many people made a mark on our society. As big as Jesse did.” Norris noted that Jackson’s message of economic and social justice helped him effectively compete in the Iowa caucuses. “What he saw, in Iowa, was his ability to connect and maybe break through these barriers. And, and it did, I mean, it, Iowa, put him in the race,” Norris said.Wayne Ford, the retired founder of Urban Dreams, reflected on Jackson’s impact, saying, “When I heard about it this morning. It really caught me. But what a life. What a life, Todd.” Ford hosted the 1988 Brown and Black coalition presidential debate at North High School in Des Moines. He recalled, “He made us see that we all Americans first. He could have chose to stay out of the Iowa caucus. Nobody would have criticized him. The first black man running coming to all white state. You could have went to New Hampshire was on the East Coast. He chose to come here. He was sending a message out. And some years later, President Obama walked across that stage.”Ford will always remember Jackson’s signature line, “Say it like you mean it. I am somebody. Respect me, protect me, never neglect me.” He added, “Many years later, I’ve heard white people say I am somebody. That’s the transformation that he wanted, and that’s his greatest legacy: he believes in America.”Jackson’s family did not reveal his cause of death, but he had suffered from a rare disease similar to Parkinson’s.» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
Reverend Jesse Jackson, who passed away peacefully on Tuesday at the age of 84, is remembered by Iowans for his historic presidential campaigns that began in the state, emphasizing economic and social justice.
Jackson made history as the first major Black candidate to run for president, starting his campaign in Iowa in the 1980s. He ran for president twice, in 1984 and 1988, and both times he began his campaign in Iowa. In an unusual move, he ran his Iowa campaign out of an office in Greenfield to emphasize the farm crisis.
John Norris, a longtime Iowa political consultant who helped run Jackson’s Iowa campaign, said, “Sad to have him go, but he, you know, not too many people made a mark on our society. As big as Jesse did.”
Norris noted that Jackson’s message of economic and social justice helped him effectively compete in the Iowa caucuses. “What he saw, in Iowa, was his ability to connect and maybe break through these barriers. And, and it did, I mean, it, Iowa, put him in the race,” Norris said.
Wayne Ford, the retired founder of Urban Dreams, reflected on Jackson’s impact, saying, “When I heard about it this morning. It really caught me. But what a life. What a life, Todd.”
Ford hosted the 1988 Brown and Black coalition presidential debate at North High School in Des Moines. He recalled, “He made us see that we all Americans first. He could have chose to stay out of the Iowa caucus. Nobody would have criticized him. The first black man running coming to all white state. You could have went to New Hampshire was on the East Coast. He chose to come here. He was sending a message out. And some years later, President Obama walked across that stage.”
Ford will always remember Jackson’s signature line, “Say it like you mean it. I am somebody. Respect me, protect me, never neglect me.”
He added, “Many years later, I’ve heard white people say I am somebody. That’s the transformation that he wanted, and that’s his greatest legacy: he believes in America.”
Jackson’s family did not reveal his cause of death, but he had suffered from a rare disease similar to Parkinson’s.
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