Jesse Jackson was the living bridge between King and Obama

"He witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King at the Lorraine motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Forty years later, he joined the jubilant crowd in Chicago's Grant Park to greet Barack Obama's election victory and had tears streaming down his face. Jesse Jackson, who died on Tuesday at the age of 84, was hailed by Martin Luther King III and his wife Andrea King as a living bridge between generations."

"He was the most influential African American political voice between King and Obama. His two runs for the Democratic nomination created the imaginative space for a Black president. He was the architect of a rainbow coalition that shapes the Democratic party today. The legacy of Jackson's commitment to expand voting rights, back marriage equality, pursue racial justice and combine a progressive agenda with Christian values lives on in figures such as Senator Raphael Warnock and Bishop William Barber and movements such as Black Lives Matter."

Jesse Jackson bridged civil-rights generations, moving from witnessing Martin Luther King's assassination to celebrating Barack Obama's presidential victory. He emerged as the predominant African American political voice between King and Obama, running twice for the Democratic nomination and creating space for a Black presidency. He built a rainbow coalition that reshaped the Democratic party and championed voting rights, marriage equality, racial justice, and a progressive Christian ethics. He influenced left foreign policy through opposition to apartheid, advocacy for Palestinian rights, and opposition to the Iraq war. His upbringing in Jim Crow South and early labor experiences shaped his lifelong advocacy for the marginalized.

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