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‘Our time has come’: Videos show Rev. Jesse Jackson making history
Jesse Jackson’s legacy in civil rights spans decades and echoes across the nation.Jackson didn’t just witness history; he helped shape it. From Alabama to the world stage, Jackson’s voice pushed America to live up to its promises.In 1965, he stood in Selma, shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., marching to Montgomery for change.Selma wasn’t just a moment in his past; it was a call he answered again and again. Year after year, Jackson returned to honor Bloody Sunday, walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.Video above: In 2000, Jesse Jackson hosts summit on race relations in Birmingham, AlabamaLast year, marking sixty years since that defining chapter, he crossed that bridge once more — this time in a wheelchair — moving forward and still standing for the same cause.Jackson made history as the first Black presidential candidate. He rallied supporters in Alabama in 1983.”All of the rejected children, the rejected stones that will become the cornerstone of a new order, black and white and brown and red and yellow, young and old, our time has come,” Jackson said.Dr. Ralph Abernathy said 16 years after Martin Luther King Jr. died that if he were alive and knew Jackson was running for president, “I think Dr. King would say, ‘Ride on Jesse. Run, Jesse, run. And win, Jesse, win.'”During that run, he spoke with former Alabama Gov. George Wallace about politics in Alabama and presidential campaigns.Wallace was known for standing in the way of desegregation in Alabama. He was shot while campaigning for a presidential run in 1972, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. He announced in the 70s that he was a born-again Christian and apologized to civil rights leaders for his actions.”I believe that love is the great weapon that we must apply as we seek to improve human relations. I believe in forgiveness and I believe in redemption. I believe that we must go beyond yesterday’s errors and try to live out the new day with new hope,” Jackson said after that meeting.Video from 1965 shows Jackson being denied service because he was Black, yet 20 years later he would have already made history by being the first Black presidential candidate with a plausible path to winning.In the early 2000s, Jackson spoke at a race relations summit in Birmingham, focusing on the progress made and the work still needed.”When you still look at the division, the digital divide, the racial divide de facto by neighborhood, the capital divide through who has the money and who does not,” Jackson said.Watch archival coverage of that summit in the video player above.
Jesse Jackson’s legacy in civil rights spans decades and echoes across the nation.
Jackson didn’t just witness history; he helped shape it. From Alabama to the world stage, Jackson’s voice pushed America to live up to its promises.
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In 1965, he stood in Selma, shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., marching to Montgomery for change.
Selma wasn’t just a moment in his past; it was a call he answered again and again. Year after year, Jackson returned to honor Bloody Sunday, walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Video above: In 2000, Jesse Jackson hosts summit on race relations in Birmingham, Alabama
Last year, marking sixty years since that defining chapter, he crossed that bridge once more — this time in a wheelchair — moving forward and still standing for the same cause.
Jackson made history as the first Black presidential candidate. He rallied supporters in Alabama in 1983.
“All of the rejected children, the rejected stones that will become the cornerstone of a new order, black and white and brown and red and yellow, young and old, our time has come,” Jackson said.
Dr. Ralph Abernathy said 16 years after Martin Luther King Jr. died that if he were alive and knew Jackson was running for president, “I think Dr. King would say, ‘Ride on Jesse. Run, Jesse, run. And win, Jesse, win.'”
During that run, he spoke with former Alabama Gov. George Wallace about politics in Alabama and presidential campaigns.
Wallace was known for standing in the way of desegregation in Alabama. He was shot while campaigning for a presidential run in 1972, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. He announced in the 70s that he was a born-again Christian and apologized to civil rights leaders for his actions.
“I believe that love is the great weapon that we must apply as we seek to improve human relations. I believe in forgiveness and I believe in redemption. I believe that we must go beyond yesterday’s errors and try to live out the new day with new hope,” Jackson said after that meeting.
Video from 1965 shows Jackson being denied service because he was Black, yet 20 years later he would have already made history by being the first Black presidential candidate with a plausible path to winning.
In the early 2000s, Jackson spoke at a race relations summit in Birmingham, focusing on the progress made and the work still needed.
“When you still look at the division, the digital divide, the racial divide de facto by neighborhood, the capital divide through who has the money and who does not,” Jackson said.
Watch archival coverage of that summit in the video player above.
