Draws Gifts and Accolades from Mayor, Members of Congress, Fire Commissioner, Clergy and Youth Orators
Rev. Jesse Jackson celebrated his 80th birthday for two days last week and received special blessings and gifts from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt, Dr. Vijay G. Prabhakar, students from Africa and Puerto Rico, and numerous pledges of support, including a large presence of West Side ministers gathered at the historic Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters, 930 E. 50th St.
Friday and Saturday’s events were decorated in gold and purple balloons, the colors of Rev. Jackson’s Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. At Friday’s clergy luncheon, scores of ministers, mostly from the West Side of Chicago, celebrated Rev. Jackson’s actual birthday on October 8, where Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III served as master of ceremonies.
Friday, Father Michael L. Pfleger led a prayer for Rev. Jackson, thanking God for his “consistency in a day when there are so many pop-up activists. Thank you for your tenacity to hold onto justice like a Pitbull and would not let it go until it rolls down like a river. Thank you for his determination…his faithfulness…his willingness to bear your cross, God.
“Thank you for his willingness to be a consistent preacher and good news and hope when hopelessness and bad news overwhelm us. Thank you, God, for his faith in you that you have been his strength and rock. You have been able to keep him all these years…,” Father Pfleger prayed.
Other ministers, including West Side Pastor Ira Acree, South Side Elder Kevin Anthony Ford, Bishop Tavis Grant, Rev. Galen Leverette, Rev. J.D. Anderson and Rev. James T. Meeks, acknowledged what they called the miracle of Rev. Jackson and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Jackson, overcoming COVID-19. They noted that Rev. Jackson had to relearn how to walk and talk following post-COVID-19 treatment and Parkinson’s rehabilitation therapy sessions.
After being discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital following his wife’s release, Rev. Jackson returned directly to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters to resume advocacy work, including efforts supporting Haitian rights. Like his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Jackson, a two-time presidential candidate, continues to focus on civil rights issues impacting poor and marginalized communities.
Rev. Jackson spoke about one of his major victories this year involving Concordia Place Apartments, where hundreds of mothers were living in apartments plagued by roaches, mold and mice. Some mothers reportedly slept in their cars at night with their children out of fear that mice would get into their beds.
Tenants also complained about restrictive management rules. They were not allowed to use the laundromat on weekends; the children’s playground was padlocked; vehicles were towed at a cost of $200 to retrieve them; and grills were confiscated. Some janitors allegedly entered apartments unannounced.
After Rev. Jackson, Bishop Tavis Grant, national field director for Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and Rev. Cameron Barnes, its national youth director, intervened, those restrictions were lifted. Rev. Jackson negotiated a tenant housing agreement with the New York-based Capital Realty Group, owners of the complex.
Following multiple rounds of negotiations, the owners agreed to rehabilitate all 297 units, including replacing appliances. Rev. Jackson said his goal is to make Concordia Place a national model for similar privately owned developments funded by HUD. At his request, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge visited the complex and said, “Since Concordia, we have found a lot of Concordia Places across the nation.” She pledged additional funding for the Chicago complex.
Though still managing Parkinson’s disease and recovering from earlier gallbladder surgery, Rev. Jackson was arrested multiple times protesting the Senate’s refusal to pass the “For the People Act of 2021 (H.R.1/S.1),” “The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 (H.R.4)” and “The Washington, D.C. Admission Act of 2021 (H.R.51/S.51).”
Another major accomplishment cited was his receipt of France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor, awarded by French President Emmanuel Macron.
At Saturday’s celebration, Rev. Jackson’s son, Congressman Jonathan Jackson, and Mayor Lightfoot highlighted his legacy and impact on elected officials who followed him into public office.
The day before his birthday, Rev. Jackson held a press conference outside Simeon Career Academy, where two students had been killed, to speak out against violence and urge community accountability. “Speak up,” he said, encouraging students not to allow their neighborhoods to become havens for violence.
During Saturday’s celebration, NBC 5’s Art Norman and Felicia Lawrence, formerly of WCIU, served as masters of ceremonies. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition Choir energized the audience with a medley of gospel selections. Santita Jackson performed, as did Mae Ya Carter Ryan.
Commissioner Nance-Holt, joined by Chicago firefighters, presented Rev. Jackson with a fire captain’s helmet and framed photograph. They thanked him for intervening during the 1980 Chicago Fire Department strike, when firefighters walked off the job after being denied a written contract.
After 27 people died in fires during Mayor Jane Byrne’s administration, Rev. Jackson helped bring both sides back to the negotiating table. Commissioner Nance-Holt and retired Fire Department Captain James Winbush credited his intervention with helping end the stalemate.
Former Congressman Bobby L. Rush (D-1st) thanked Rev. Jackson for protecting him following the 1969 police raid that killed Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Rush, who was not present during the raid, later turned himself in to Rev. Jackson, who he said provided him protection from police abuse.
Also offering tributes were Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th); Illinois Senators Robert Peters (D-13th) and Jacqueline Collins (D-16th); Illinois Appellate Court Justice Jesse G. Reyes; CPS CEO Pedro Martinez; Greg Kelly, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas; Rev. Dr. S. Todd Yeary, vice president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition; PUSH Excel youth orators; and McCormick Theological Seminary students from Africa and Puerto Rico who described how Rev. Jackson’s life inspired their careers.
When asked by the Chicago Crusader what he wanted for his birthday, Rev. Jackson replied, “All I want to do is to serve,” as he listed social justice issues that remain unresolved.
He also encouraged supporters to join the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Membership is $35 for adults and $15 for students and seniors and is available at www.rainbowpush.org. “This is the fuel that keeps the Rainbow PUSH Coalition going,” he said.