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Jesse Jackson (Photo: Rainbow PUSH Coalition)
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and pushed for equality throughout his life, died Tuesday at age 84.
Jackson's presence was felt in Detroit and Michigan over the years.
In 1998, he established a Detroit office for his Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which he founded in 1971.
In November 1983, he announced his bid for president in Flint.
In 2021, he visited Detroit for the 22nd Annual Rainbow PUSH Global Automotive Summit at the MotorCity Casino Hotel and Convention Center and pushed for the auto industry to support opportunities for people of color.
His organization released an automotive diversity scorecard rating the world’s leading automotive companies on ethnic diversity within six criteria: employment, advertising, marketing, procurement, dealers and philanthropy, according to Bridge Detroit.
Jackson wasn't beloved by all in Detroit.
Hour Magazine in 2008 showed a photo of Jackson with his arms around Coleman A. Young in 1973 at the Book Cadillac Hotel the night Young was first elected mayor. But Young, according to the article, wasn't happy with Jackson. He wanted him to come to Detroit to help with a voter registration drive, but Jackson wanted $50,000.
"I didn’t have $50,000 for Jesse Jackson," Young said. In 1988, when Jackson ran for president for the second time, Young backed another candidate.
“It was well known that Jesse and I were not bosom buddies," he wrote in his autobiography.
In 2023, the year he retired from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the Michigan Advance:
“His work at Rainbow/PUSH has informed local, state and national policy on a wide range of issues that make a real difference in people’s lives, from jobs and education to housing and voting rights. Rev. Jackson’s ties to Michigan run deep. He led marches for equal rights in Detroit, fought for clean water in Flint, and traversed the state during his campaign for president. The mark he has left on our story will be etched in our history, and the impact he had on families and communities will be felt for generations to come. Thank you, Rev. Jackson.”
