Jesse Jackson Interview: From the Sit-Ins to Selma, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Lasting Impact

Jesse Jackson talks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s deep commitment to scholarship and his understanding of the importance of action with analysis and preparation. Jackson tells a story of Dr. King’s last birthday, discusses his strategic sense to put light in dark places and Dr. King’s lasting impact on social justice today.

Jesse Jackson is one of the foremost civil and human rights leaders in the United States. Born on October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, he graduated from public high school and earned a degree in Sociology from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, and was later ordained as a Baptist Minister. He rose to national prominence through his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), organizing in support of Dr. King during the sit-in movements and the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery. He later founded what is now the PUSH Rainbow Coalition, an organizing effort advocating for inclusivity and economic and political empowerment for all people. In 1984 and 1988 he led groundbreaking presidential campaigns for the Democratic nomination on a progressive platform that registered millions of first-time voters and received widespread national support. In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “King in the Wilderness” that follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the last years of his life: from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, through personal stories of the people who were around him.

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Jesse Jackson, Director, SCLC Operation Breadbasket
Interviewed By: Trey Ellis
Interview Date: May 17, 2017

Chapters:
00:00 Meeting Dr. King
05:38 Getting to Know Dr. King Personally
10:21 Dr. King’s Management Style
14:27 Taking The Movement To Chicago
54:56 Dr. King’s Assassination
01:01:34 Mayor Daley
01:07:50 Media Response
01:11:21 After The Movement
01:16:35 Memphis and Dr. King’s Frustration
1:20:31 Memories of Dr. King
01:25:37 Message For Today

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