COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a decades-long career in the fight for civil rights, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. returned Monday to his home state of South Carolina to lie in state at the South Carolina Statehouse.
The full state honors mark a powerful contrast to Jackson’s childhood in segregated Greenville. In 1960, he and seven other Black high school students entered a whites-only branch of the local library, sat down to read and were arrested — a protest that led to the facility quietly reopening to all.
That act helped launch a national career advocating for racial equality.
A Life in the Civil Rights Movement
Jackson later drew the attention of Martin Luther King Jr. and joined him during the historic 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
Following King’s assassination, Jackson emerged as one of the leading voices of the Civil Rights Movement, advocating for voting rights, economic opportunity, education and healthcare access for marginalized communities.
Through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he pushed corporations and institutions to expand opportunities for Black Americans and other underrepresented groups. He also sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, breaking barriers with nationally competitive campaigns.
Jackson died Feb. 17 at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and speech in later years.
Two Weeks of Memorial Events
The South Carolina tribute follows a public viewing at Rainbow PUSH’s Chicago headquarters. After the statehouse ceremony, Jackson’s body will return to Chicago for a large celebration of life at a megachurch and final homegoing services at Rainbow PUSH headquarters.
Plans for a memorial service in Washington, D.C., have been postponed to a later date.
A Historic Honor
Jackson is only the second Black man to lie in state at the South Carolina Capitol. The first was Clementa Pinckney, who was honored in 2015 after being killed in the racially motivated shooting at a Charleston church.
Even in his later years, Jackson remained active in South Carolina, advocating for observance of the federal holiday honoring King and calling for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Statehouse grounds following the 2015 church massacre.
His return to Columbia for final honors underscores the lasting impact of a life spent pressing America toward greater equality.