Tinubu, Trump, Obama, Clintons, Biden, others mourn Jackson’s passing at 84
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday joined the world and the people of the United States (U.S.) to mourn the passing of civil rights icon and Baptist preacher, Rev. Jesse Jackson.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday joined the world and the people of the United States (U.S.) to mourn the passing of civil rights icon and Baptist preacher, Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Jackson died yesterday at 84.
The veteran rights crusader made history when he stood for the White House in 1984 and 1988. He was not the first African American to seek the U.S. presidency, but he was the first to mount a serious challenge, breaking through racial barriers, securing millions of votes and, at one point, becoming frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
His run opened the way for Barack Obama two decades later. But Jackson deserved to be remembered as more than a footnote in Obama’s biography.
His daughter, Santita Jackson, confirmed that her father had died at home, surrounded by his family.
Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the U.S. and abroad, campaigning for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and healthcare.
He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders and, through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he chanelled cries for black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressing executives to increase diversity.
Jackson continued protesting against racial injustice into the era of Black Lives Matter even as his health began to fail.
Tinubu, in a statement issued in Abuja, described Jackson, as a servant-leader who captured global imagination as a young activist alongside civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.
He said Jackson fought for the dignity of black people, the oppressed and the voiceless in the United States and across the world.
The president said Jackson became a national and global icon who demanded improved social and economic conditions for African-Americans.
Tinubu said Jackson carried on the unfinished work of Martin Luther King Jr. in the struggle for racial justice.
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“As a student in the United States in the 1970s, I lived in Chicago, the same city where Reverend Jackson fought the most important battles against injustice,” he said.
“I witnessed firsthand how, as a faithful servant of God and humanity, he pointed the arc of American society to the great promise of the American dream.”
Tinubu said Jackson was influential in American politics and global affairs, and helped pave the way for Barack Obama’s emergence as the first Black American president.
“When Barack Obama broke the glass ceiling as the first Black President in America, it was Rev. Jackson who first inflicted the cracks on the ceiling in 1984 and again in 1988,” he said.
The president described Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa and a formidable voice against apartheid in South Africa.
He noted that Jackson played a leading role in campaigns for the release of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress (ANC) leaders.
Tinubu said Jackson also defended human rights and democratic rule during Nigeria’s era of military dictatorship.
He recalled that Jackson served as Special Envoy appointed by President Bill Clinton to Nigeria and Africa in 1997 and 1999.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, described Jackson as one of America’s greatest moral voices and a global symbol of democratic struggle.
In a tribute, Olawepo-Hashim said Jackson’s passing marked the end of an era in the global pursuit of equality, social justice and human dignity. He stated that the late cleric’s influence went beyond the U.S. and inspired activists across continents, including Africa.
“Reverend Jackson was a moral voice moulded in the crucible of the struggle for democracy and inclusion,” Olawepo-Hashim said.
President Donald Trump described Jackson as a “good man” in a social media post, in which he reels off the many ways he claims to have supported the civil rights activist over the years.
Trump paid tribute to Jackson, describing him as “very gregarious” and said he had known him over many decades.”
Barack Obama, the first African-American U.S. president, also yesterday released his tribute to Jackson.
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He credits the civil rights leader with laying the foundation for his own successful presidential run and says he and his wife, Michelle Obama, “stand on his shoulders”.
“Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a true giant, the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
“For more than 60 years, Reverend Jackson helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history. From organising boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect.
“Michelle and I will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share. We stood on his shoulders. We send our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and everyone in Chicago and beyond who knew and loved him.”
Also former President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary have also shared a tribute to Jackson.
The couple say they are “deeply saddened” by his death as they outline they have been friends for “almost fifty years” since meeting in 1977.
“From his early days working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr; to his founding of the organisations now united as Rainbow/PUSH; to his efforts to free innocents and promote fair elections around the globe, Reverend Jackson championed human dignity and helped create opportunities for countless people to live better lives,” the statement reads.
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They added that Jackson “never stopped working for a better America with brighter tomorrows” citing his campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
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Former U.S. president Joe Biden asserted that the civil rights leader was “unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our nation”.
He noted that Jackson led the U.S. “through tumult and triumph” with a sense of optimism and “a relentless insistence on what is right and just”.
President Emmanuel Macron also joined world leaders in sharing tributes to Jackson, calling him a tireless promoter for civil rights.
He said Jackson worked to defend peace, justice and fraternity, in a post on X.
The French president awarded Jackson a Légion d’Honneur in 2021 for his work in the civil rights movement and campaigning for peace and justice.
Former vice-president Kamala Harris has also paid tribute to Jesse Jackson, describing him as “one of America’s greatest patriots”.
“He spent his life summoning all of us to fulfill the promise of America and building the coalitions to make that promise real,” she wrote in a post on X, adding that he gave a voice to those who were “removed from power and politics”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said about Jackson: “His campaigns for an end to apartheid included disinvestment from the apartheid economy and challenging the support the regime enjoyed in certain circles and institutions internationally,”
“We are deeply indebted to the energy, principled clarity and personal risk with which he supported our struggle and campaigned for freedom and equality in other parts of the world.”
