The Rev. Jesse Jackson is being remembered for a lifetime of leadership and the indelible mark he left on South Carolina — and the world.
A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson confronted segregation and inequality in American politics, emerging as a steadfast champion of social justice and a tireless advocate for civil rights.
Since his passing, tributes have poured in from around the globe, honoring his decades of public service. South Carolina Public Radio recently spoke with two community leaders who reflected on Jackson’s legacy — sharing both personal memories and perspectives on his political impact.
I.S. Leevy Johnson, former State Representative, Richland County
For I.S. Leevy Johnson, the story of Jesse Jackson is a story of a star quarterback from Greenville who grew up to change the playbook of American democracy.
Johnson, a legal titan who was among the first three African Americans elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1970, remembers Jackson long before the "Rainbow Coalition."
"Rev. Jackson was born in Greenville in 1941; I was born in Columbia in 1942," Johnson recalls. "He was the star quarterback for Sterling High School... I was the third-string quarterback at C.A. Johnson. But both of us, during those days, experienced extreme segregation."
Johnson said that while figures like himself were the "roof on the building" of South Carolina politics, that structure was only possible because of the foundation laid by Jackson and Dr. King.
"He recognized that the rising tides raise all the boats, but he understood that everybody needs to be in a boat," Johnson says. He credits Jackson with exposing that segregation wasn't just a Southern problem, but a corporate and Northern one as well. "He used his negotiation skills to bring about changes... his influence was universal."
When it comes to understanding who Jesse Jackson was as a human being, Johnson points to one of Jackson's most famous mantras as the proof of his character: "I was born in a slum, but the slum was not born in me."
Despite the progress made since 1970, Johnson warns against complacency in the wake of Jackson's passing. He spoke about the modern political climate in South Carolina, noting that the state still faces "the same problems" Jackson fought decades ago.
"I truly believe that too many people are suffering from an illusion of inclusion," Johnson warns. "They feel that we have been successful and don't realize that success is always a goal—it's not a status."
As Johnson reflects on Jackson’s global impact, he describes him as a man who never stopped reaching back and helping people as he climbed.
"Rev. Jackson, although he started in South Carolina, his impact was worldwide. He recognized that what happens in America has consequences all over the world," said Johnson. "As he progressed up the ladder, he was always pulling other people up with him."
Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, civil rights and community leader
For Rev. Nelson Rivers, Jesse Jackson was the ultimate field general. While others debated policy in committee rooms, Jackson was on the ground, organizing marches and stirring the hearts of those who felt forgotten by their own government.
Rivers reflects on the energy that Jackson used to fuel South Carolina's most pivotal civil rights moments to the day the Confederate flag came down at the Statehouse.
One of the moments Rivers remembers the most with Jackson, was during Jacksons second presidential run in 1988. Rivers joined Jackson in a security car ride from Downtown Charleston to the Airport.
"I asked him, why do you have so many people, even in our community, who are against you?" Jackson turned to him and gave him a piece of advice: "Don't spend your time defending yourself to everyone... your prize is not your enemies. Your prize is justice and freedom."
Rivers provided a connection between Jackson’s failed presidential bids and the eventual success of Barack Obama. He recalls meeting a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama at a funeral in Chicago. Years later, standing under the State House dome in Columbia, Rivers told Obama directly: "You are the personification of the work Jesse Jackson has done for these last 40 years."
When Obama was elected in 2008, Rivers found himself in tears on the phone with his mother. "I thought about Jesse," he says. "Without Jesse Jackson, there would be no Barack Obama. That’s not a hyperbole. That’s just the truth."
Rivers and Jackson shared a historic moment in July 2015 when the Confederate flag was finally removed from the South Carolina State House grounds.
"He cried and I cried," Rivers says. "We were reflecting on how many people paid the price with their lives and their liberty to get the state where it was at that time."
However, Rivers warns that the progress Jackson fought for is fragile. He notes that while South Carolina has come a long way since his birth in 1950, the "politics of hate" are threatening to pull the state backward.
As he reflects on Jackson’s transition, Rivers points to the simplicity of Jackson’s most famous message: I Am Somebody.
"The best thing you could ever do with a young person is to convince them that they are somebody," said Rivers, "The world treats them like they’re not. Racism, sexism... they treat them like they're not. But Jesse Jackson convinced generations: I am somebody. Today, the world lost somebody."
