Bay Area leaders remember Rev. Jesse Jackson as pioneer and human rights champion

""We had similar experiences that motivated high engagement in the struggle for human rights," Brown said. "We're not just concerned about civil rights for Black people - but human rights." Both men were mentored by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose philosophy of nonviolence and moral urgency shaped Jackson's approach to activism. "If he could speak to us again, he would say, 'Check yourself,'" Brown said of Jackson. "We all have to do that - mind our manners and be kind to each other.""

"Jackson rose to national prominence as a close aide to King and later as the founder of Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition. INTERVIEW: Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee remembers friend, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and his impact In 1984 and again in 1988, he mounted historic campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination - becoming one of the first Black candidates to mount a serious national bid for the White House."

Reverend Jesse Jackson, born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941, became a prominent civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential candidate. He rose to national prominence as a close aide to Martin Luther King Jr. and later founded Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition to advance economic and political inclusion. Jackson built a multiracial coalition reaching Black, Latino, Asian American communities and labor, reshaping the Democratic nominating process through his 1984 and 1988 campaigns. Colleagues described him as a servant leader committed to human rights, nonviolence, moral accountability, and a broader vision of equality.

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