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CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent church pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.\u2019s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people gathered at a church on Chicago\u2019s South Side to pay a final public tribute to\u00a0Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n The celebration \u2014 with appearances by Grammy-winning gospel singers and Jennifer Hudson \u2014 felt at times like a church service and others like a political rally. Many, from former President Bill Clinton to the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, likened Jackson\u2019s death to a call to action, from speaking out against justice to voting in the midterms.<\/p>\n Former President Barack Obama said Jackson\u2019s presidential runs in the 1980s set the stage for other Black leaders, including his own successful 2009 presidency and re-election.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn\u2019t any place or any room where we didn\u2019t belong,\u201d Obama said. \u201cHe paved the road for so many others to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n Obama, joined by Clinton and former Democratic president Joe Biden at a\u00a0celebration of life<\/a>\u00a0for Jackson, received the loudest round of applause as the three entered the chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,\u201d Obama said. \u201cEach day we wake up to some new assault to our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn\u2019t think were possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEach day we are told by folks in high office to fear each other,\u201d said Obama, referring to the current Republican leadership in Washington.<\/p>\n Clinton said Jackson made him a better president. \u201cHe knew change came from the inside out,\u201d Clinton said.<\/p>\n Former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke Friday.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after he died and also shared photos of the two of them together, was not attending the service, according to his public schedule issued by the White House.<\/p>\n Thousands attend Jackson memorial service<\/p>\n The event honors the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate and follows memorial services\u00a0that drew large crowds in Chicago<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0South Carolina,<\/a>\u00a0where Jackson was born. Friday\u2019s celebration \u2014 at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena \u2014 is expected to be the largest.<\/p>\n Crowds of attendees waited in long lines outside the church as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson\u2019s most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his \u201cI Am Somebody\u201d mantra.<\/p>\n Along with a slew of Illinois elected leaders, notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and political activist and theologian Cornel West. Detroit Pistons great and Chicago native Isiah Thomas was one of the speakers.<\/p>\n Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said Friday that she decided to attend the memorial service because it was \u201ca chance to be part of something historic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he\u2019s worth honoring,\u201d Bryan said.<\/p>\n Jackson Jr.: Everyone welcome<\/p>\n Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. Family members say he continued coming into the office until last year and communicated through hand signals. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single person in here has a Jesse Jackson story,\u201d his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said Friday. \u201cThe time he shook your hand, the time he prayed for you, the time he held you up, the time he prayed the funeral for somebody you know \u2026 and he prayed you to a new course of existence.\u201d<\/p>\n Sitting in the crowd was 90-year-old Mary Lovett. She said Jackson\u2019s advocacy inspired her many times, from when she moved from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s, taught elementary school and became a mom. She twice voted for Jackson during both of his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people. \u201cHe\u2019s gone, but I hope his legacy lives,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope we can remember what he tried to teach us.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s service was to the poor, underrepresented<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, health care, job opportunities and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.<\/p>\n Another son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.<\/p>\n \u201cHe lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness,\u201d Yusef Jackson said Friday. \u201cHe was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It\u2019s not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s services in Chicago and South Carolina drew civic leaders, school groups and everyday people who said they were touched by Jackson\u2019s work, from scholarship programs to advocating for inmates. Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.<\/p>\n Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda\u00a0was denied by<\/a>\u00a0House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents. Details on a future event have not been made public.<\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n