On Friday, March 6, 2026, people gathered on Chicago’s South Side to honor the life of Rev. Jesse Jackson. The homegoing lasted five hours with gospel music and fiery speeches.
The crowd that came to celebrate Rev. Jackson in the House of Hope megachurch chanted, “Iam somebody,” commemorating the belief that every person matters, regardless of race or economic status.
Rev. Jackson on Civil Rights
Former President Barack Obama said: “He paved the road. His voice called on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope, to step forward and say, ‘Send me.’ Wherever we have a chance to make an impact, whether it’s in our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, our cities.”
He added: “It’s hard to hope when every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible. Each day we’re told … to fear each other, to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all. Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength. We see science and expertise denigrated while ignorance and dishonesty and cruelty and corruption and reaping untold rewards every day.”
Jackson’s son Yusef, spoke about his father’s commitment to helping others. “I intend to die with my shoes on,” quoting his father’s refusal to allow health issues to prevent him from helping those in wartorn Ukraine and Americans struggling with food insecurity. “Keep hope alive.”
Sowed Seeds
Judge Greg Mathis said hearing Rev. Jackson‘s words, “I am somebody,” set off a domino effect that catapulted his success in the worlds of law and entertainment. “Those were the three words I heard 50 years ago this month that changed my life forever.”
Mathis met Rev. Jackson when he was an incarcerated teenager in Detroit, and the reverend stopped at the facility during a speaking tour. In that moment, Mathis said he wanted to join the cause, but Jackson told Mathis to attend college first.
After graduating, Mathis worked on Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign and was later elected to a judgeship in Detroit. Years later, he served as vice president of the Rainbow Push Coalition.
Obama spoke about watching Rev. Jackson’s first presidential debate when he was a college student.
“When that debate was over, I turned off that TV, and I thought the same thing that I know a lot of people thought, even if they didn’t want to admit it. That is his idea, and his platform, in his analysis, in his intelligence, in his insight. Jesse hadn’t just held his own. He has owned that stage.”
He continued, “And the message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that there wasn’t any place, any room, where we didn’t belong.”
Isaiah Thomas, an NBA Hall of Famer was a longtime friend of the reverend. He recalled meeting the civil rights leader when he was a child in Chicago. Thomas said his family was living in poverty, relying on the soup line for sustenance, and Thomas and his mother encountered Rev. Jackson on the street. The reverend bent down and looked Thomas in the eye.
“When society was telling me I was a nobody, when society was telling me we don’t even want to go to school with you. Jackson said, ‘You are somebody.'”
Sources:
NPR: Family, former presidents and a Hall of Famer give Rev, Jesse Jackson a final sendoff
Chicago Sun-Times: Thousands gather to celebrate the life of Rev. Jesse Jackson at Chicago funeral
Fox News: Biden says ‘I’m a h— of a lot smarter than most of you’ to crowd at Jesse Jackson funeral
Featured Image Courtesy of Joe Brusky’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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