Jesse Jackson to retire as head of civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH

Rev. Jesse Jackson is planning his retirement from leading the Chicago civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition, according to his son’s congressional office.

Stepping Down: Rev. Jesse Jackson is retiring from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization he founded in 1971.
* The announcement of his retirement is scheduled to be made during the organization’s annual convention on Sunday.
* Jackson, despite recent health problems including Parkinson’s disease, a gallbladder surgery, and a fall that caused a head injury, has continued to be active in the civil rights movement.

Historical perspective: Jackson has been a significant figure in American civil rights movement and politics.
* He was a protégé of Rev. Martin Luther King and broke away from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to establish Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
* The organization, originally named People United to Save Humanity, has since worked on encouraging corporations to hire more minorities and launching voter registration drives in communities of color.
* Jackson was the most successful Black US Presidential candidate until Barack Obama’s election, winning 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988.

Public response: Figures in politics and civil rights have lauded Jackson’s impact.
* Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Jackson “an architect of the soul of Chicago”, and praised his dedication to civil rights and social justice.
* Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, named Jackson as a mentor and “one of the most productive, prophetic, and dominant figures in the struggle for social justice in American history.”

View original article on NPR

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