"Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. took a chance on me as a 19-year-old college student. At that age, as an intern in 2009, I should've been pouring coffee, maybe making copies. Instead, he put me to work on college affordability policy, youth violence prevention, and immigration reform at his Rainbow PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) Coalition on the South Side of Chicago."
"I met him in 2009 at a press conference he held to announce his intention to negotiate the release of journalist Roxana Saberi from an Iranian prison. Saberi was an alum of Northwestern University, where I was a student. Several classmates and I had staged a rally to call attention to her issue, and Rev. Jackson had invited us to join him at his press conference in Chicago. When it ended and everyone packed up to leave, I made a split-second decision."
"When it ended and everyone packed up to leave, I made a split-second decision. I grabbed him by the shoulder - strongly enough that his security detail sprang into action - and asked if I could volunteer for his Reduce-the-Rate initiative on college affordability. It was an issue that deeply resonated with me, as I'd borrowed a crippling amount to attend Northwestern. He said yes."
A 19-year-old intern joined Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2009 and worked on college affordability policy, youth violence prevention, and immigration reform. The intern met Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at a press conference about negotiating the release of journalist Roxana Saberi and invited classmates to participate. After grabbing Jackson's shoulder, the intern volunteered for the Reduce-the-Rate initiative and soon became campaign manager, conducting policy research, community outreach, and accompanying Jackson to meetings. Jackson mentored the intern personally and professionally. In later years the intern visited Jackson in hospital as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy had taken his voice. Jackson has since passed away.
Read at Business Insider
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