The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Baptist minister, civil rights leader and presidential candidate, had an impact on millions in the country, including many in Waycross.
They held fond memories of Jackson, recalling them last week after his death February 17 at age 84.
Waycross NAACP president Barbara Siedman met Jackson several times during his life. She described him as a “good, quality, caring man.”
“He was always a man who protects civil rights, of all people,” she said. “He was a man that cared about people, and loved the NAACP.”
Jackson was prominent during the Civil Rights era, widely considered a successor to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and even made runs for the presidency in 1984 and ’88.
In the wake of Jackson’s death, condolences and tributes came from multiple politicians and figures, including President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama.
Jackson visited Waycross in 2001, as part of a tour of 25 Georgia cities. During the visit, he spoke at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.
The Rev. Ferrell Malone recalled the event at his church, which drew a huge turnout.
“We couldn’t fit anyone else in the sanctuary,” he said.
Malone considered Jackson a friend, while touting his record, saying, “He was a warrior and a friend ... he was passionate about justice and civil rights.”
Malone, who accompanied Jackson on his tour of Georgia, concluded by stating Jackson had done a “job well done,” and likened his work to Matthew 25: 35-36, which reads, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Larry Lockey, former president of the Waycross NAACP chapter, as well as current officer in the Georgia NAACP, also spoke about Jackson, having met him on several occasions over the years. One of those came in Brunswick during the aftermath of the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man who was killed while out for a neighborhood run by a white father and son.
“Rev. Jackson didn’t just preach hope, he organized,” Lockey said. “His legacy lies in voting rights and equality for all. His legacy will continue to go on like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.”
No cause of death was immediately given by his family, who said he was surrounded by loved ones when he passed in Chicago.
Jackson, a native of Greenville, S.C., revealed he had Parkinson’s in 2017. He was treated as an outpatient at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago for at least two years before he shared his diagnosis with the public.
Public observances will be held in Chicago and future plans for celebration of life events will be announced by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded.
Jackson began his work as an organizer with the Congress of Racial Equality, participating in marches and sit-ins. He attended North Carolina A&T State University and graduated with a degree in sociology. He began rallying student support for King during his divinity studies at Chicago Theological Seminary and participated in the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march in Alabama.
Shortly afterward, Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, to work alongside King full time. He drew praise from King as a young man running the SCLC’s economic development and empowerment program, Operation Breadbasket.
