02/20/2026
In Memorial of Reverend Jesse Jackson, Vice President & Professor of Communications, Dr. Mary J. Lomax-Ghirarduzzi, shared a reflection statement:
We lost one of America’s great civil rights trailblazer today. This photo is from February 2017 as we prepared to walk to a full room of people waiting for him at University of San Francisco. Rev. Jesse Jackson focused on how to move justice issues forward. Recognizing how many students were in attendance, he spoke directly to them as the next generation affirming how much they matter - that their voices matter.
His ‘84 and ‘88 presidential campaigns became a pathway carved for the nation to consider and elect Barack Obama, twenty years later. That path was set forth by Rep. Shirley Chisholm in ‘74 - ‘Unbought & unbossed. Journalist George Edwin Taylor in 1904 paved an early pathway. And even earlier, the great Frederick Douglass planted seeds and made way for everyone committed to justice.
There were forerunners in every step of fulfilling the promise of America. Black Americans have been at the helm of this nation building work; leading and offering a vision for our collective prosperity.
We needed Rev. Jesse Jackson to help us understand the power of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and diverse socio economic community who together may transform our nation for economic equality and full inclusion.
Rev. Jackson helped us by offering a vision for better collective future. He has energy, verve and passion for an inclusive American society. His Rainbow 🌈 Coalition and Operation Push included every group that had been left behind.
We must remember to continue his legacy that offers us a different imagination of what’s possible.
