Metro Detroit activists mourn the loss of Rev. Jesse Jackson

Remembering civil rights icon Jesse Jackson

The fiery Baptist preacher, two-time presidential candidate and one-time staffer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is remembered by many longtime religious and political figures in Metro-Detroit. All too often we hear the phrase "the end of an era", but that could not ring more true today for those who knew and worked with Rev. Jesse Jackson over the years.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Civil rights activists in Metro Detroit are mourning the loss of a giant in their work, Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease and another similar illness.

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The fiery Baptist preacher, two-time presidential candidate and one-time staffer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered by many longtime religious and political figures in Metro-Detroit.

All too often we hear the phrase "the end of an era", but that could not ring more true today for those who knew and worked with Rev. Jesse Jackson over the years.

FOX 2 spoke with the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, President of the NAACP Detroit Branch, and former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard about their time with Jesse Jackson, who once told me directly "it’s good to be home" when the Chicago-based activist came back to Detroit for a series of community events several years ago. 

Both Rev. Anthony and Gov. Blanchard say Jesse Jackson engaged crowds with a raw, kinetic energy and political prowess that won him the Michigan Democratic Caucus in 1988, later delivering a legendary speech at the ‘88 Democratic Convention while paving the way for Barack Obama’s historic presidency. 

What they're saying:

Jesse Jackson married Wendell Anthony and his wife, so for Anthony, this loss is especially personal.

"Jesse was a friend of everyone. He is an iconic individual who made history, and he’s still making history about what he did," said Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony. "He was a friend of the poor. He helped to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and, most importantly, he helped to free those who are oppressed. This giant, who registered over seven million people in his lifetime, has left seeds all over America."

"Jesse got a lot of votes! He carried the Michigan caucuses," said former Gov. James Blanchard. "That may have been electorally his high point other than being at the convention in 88 and giving the most electrifying speech. But he’s been a force as a young man, he was on MLK’s staff. He was really, in that sense, raised by King as so many were in the civil rights movement, and then he expanded to activities beyond the south into the entire country."

"As you know, we won Michigan that year," said Anthony. "People were out on the streets everywhere, and I remember saying as they brought in the dogs to secure the place, to make sure there was no bombs or anything. I remember saying to the crowd that they used to bring the dogs in to attack us. Now they bringing the dogs to protect us. He got a kick out of that and so did the people."

The Rev. Jackson witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968 and positioned himself to take on a key role in continuing MLK’s teachings and legacy from that point on.