The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the most influential civil rights leaders in modern American history, has died at age 84. His passing closes a powerful chapter in the long struggle for racial justice, economic equality, and political empowerment — a struggle that continues to shape communities like Southeast Queens today.
Born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose from the segregated Jim Crow South to become a global voice for justice. A close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he helped carry forward the civil rights movement after King’s assassination and became one of the most recognizable advocates for Black political and economic power in America.
Jackson helped lead economic justice campaigns through Operation Breadbasket and later founded Operation PUSH and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition — organizations focused on expanding job access, voting power, and corporate accountability for marginalized communities.
His presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 reshaped national politics by building a multiracial “Rainbow Coalition” of working-class and progressive voters, helping expand political participation in urban communities across the country.
Jesse Jackson’s Direct Impact in Southeast Queens
Jackson’s legacy is not just national — it is local.
In December 2007, he came directly to Southeast Queens to confront what he called a modern civil rights crisis: predatory lending and mass foreclosures devastating Black homeowners.
Jackson led a march through Laurelton after speaking at St. Luke’s Cathedral, calling for a new civil rights movement to fight high-cost subprime mortgages that disproportionately targeted Black families in the area.
The march ended at an abandoned foreclosed home — a visible symbol of the financial devastation many Southeast Queens families were facing. More than 100 homeowners and advocates joined the demonstration.
He warned that discriminatory lending practices were stripping wealth from Black communities and demanded loan restructuring, federal regulation, and legal action against lenders.
At the time, data showed Southeast Queens neighborhoods — including St. Albans, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, and Rosedale — had some of the highest concentrations of subprime mortgages in New York City.
Jackson framed the crisis as an economic justice battle equal to earlier civil rights struggles — a message that resonated deeply in a region known for Black homeownership and middle-class stability.
His visit came during a period when he remained a major national political figure following his presidential campaigns and continued leadership of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, using his national platform to spotlight local injustice.
A Legacy That Still Speaks
Rev. Jesse Jackson helped redefine civil rights for the modern era — expanding the fight beyond legal equality to include economic power, political representation, and community stability.
From Selma to Southeast Queens, his message remained consistent: justice must be lived, not just promised.
For many Jackson’s life is more than history — it is a roadmap.
And his presence in Southeast Queens let’s us remember we are a community touched by his legacy.
