Honoring Jesse Jackson

Today, the Urban League of Greater Philadelphia honors the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. (1941–2026), a servant-leader whose voice, organizing, and moral imagination helped move this nation closer to justice.

Rev. Jackson rose in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement as a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he helped advance the movement’s fight for dignity through economic justice work, most notably through the SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, which challenged discriminatory hiring and pushed companies to invest in Black communities.

He then built enduring institutions of his own: Operation PUSH (founded in 1971) and the National Rainbow Coalition (founded in 1984), later unified as the Rainbow PUSH Coalition expanding the Civil Rights vision to include jobs, education, political power, and human rights across lines of race and class.

His historic presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 widened the gates of American democracy and inspired generations to believe that leadership, policy, and power should reflect the full breadth of our people.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Rev. Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing a lifetime of impact rooted in hope, unity, and responsibility.

We extend love and condolences to the Jackson family and all who were shaped by his courage. We honor him best by continuing the work: fighting poverty, expanding opportunity, defending dignity, and refusing to let the future be smaller than our people deserve.