CNN article:
Damn, he fought long and hard for civil rights. He made a big impact on the progressive side of the Democratic party. By constantly confronting and confounding racism and prejudice he helped move this country forward until we abandoned reason at least.
He also gave us this wonderful reading of Green Eggs and Ham.
Thats what first came to mind too. He seemed always young. 84.
Yeah, I was surprised. 84? I would’ve guessed he was in his nineties. Not from looks, but he was just around so long. The guy was running for president in the eighties.
Seeing him on TV in the 80s and 90s was one of the major influences on my interest and passion for politics. RIP.
In 1984, my Alaskan uncle was visiting us is New York State (I was a teen). We were watching a Democratic primary debate, among about seven potential candidates.
My uncle wasn’t especially political, and had never seen most or all of the candidates before. He said “I like this guy Jackson — he’s the only one actually answering the moderator’s questions, and with answers that make sense.”
He was the longtime conscience of the Democratic Party. A very good man indeed.
Of course my local tv station’s FB feed is full of MAGAssholes claiming that DJT was a huge supporter of his. He may have supported some of the same causes financially, but you’re still talking about the guy who settled out of court for refusing to rent for blacks.
How well known was he outside of Chicago?
Hereabouts, he was quite prominent through the 70s-80s. I believe it was Royko who called him Jesse Jetstream. And then, of course, his son was a well-known fuckup. But I never had a sense of how prominent he was elsewhere.
He was a national figure. Please note 2 presidential runs, a major voice in civil rights and the linked appearance on SNL for Green Eggs and Ham.
I feel like he was the best known leader of the Civil Rights movement in my life as Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated when I was little.
I am well aware of his presidential runs. My recollections of him likely need to be viewed through a filter of Chicago’s segregated history and my personal ignorance. But as a child/young adult I always had the impression that there was an element of self-promotion related to his efforts. I acknowledge that as a younger person I did not fully appreciate the importance of racial equality efforts.
As an older individual, I can appreciate the desire to garner wide publicity for one’s cause. But around Chicago I personally perceived some element of, “Something is getting attention. The cameras are rolling. I expect Jesse Jackson to show up and start pontificating.” And his speaking style often impressed me as gimmicky.
Not at all suggesting my impression was at all warranted. But I guarantee that hereabouts I was not alone in my impression. Given that SOME folk locally felt that way about him, I wondered what the impression was elsewhere.
What I found so compelling about him in the 80s/90s on TV was his manner of speaking – his speech pattern was uniquely soothing and rhythmic, almost poetic. I don’t know of anyone else who spoke like him.
I’ll try this again.
Very, he was very well known. I didn’t even associate him with Chicago, he was a national figure. And in the 80s through basically the end of the 90s I was Republican, though a Rockefeller or Roosevelt Republican.
When will we see another of his like?
We surely could use one now.
He was a master. Hear him reading Dr Seuss:
Geez, I linked that in the 1st reply to the thread.
So you did! The onebox hadn’t loaded for me, and I missed your link. Still worth watching. 
Agreed.
Another classic Jesse Jackson moment, preaching to the kids on Sesame Street.
I think he was a little full of himself sometimes. He was caught on a hot mike talking about wanting to cut Obama’s nuts off. It wasn’t always everything for the greater good.
As an outsider, I was never a big fan of the man.
Perhaps we only got negative news coverage piped into our heads, but my view of Rev. Jackson is quite ambivalent. That could also be related to the very US format of political performative publicity and my intentional ignorance of anyone who performs such.
I am sad to hear he has died, because he was at the very least, a counter-weight to the nutters on the right.