Leaders of Peoria’s Black community remember Rev. Jesse Jackson as a trailblazer, an inspirational leader, and a champion of voting rights.
The American civil rights leader and politician died Tuesday at the age of 84. Peoria NAACP President Marvin Hightower said his legacy will have a lasting impact.
“He was the bridge between the civil rights movement and the affirmative action,” said Hightower. “Also, of course, he was a voting rights champion who believed that voting was not just a privilege, it was our responsibility. He understood the power that came from our vote.”
Andre Allen, the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Peoria County and a Peoria City Council member, said Jackson served as a model of leadership.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson was a giant, a trailblazer, a man of many hats, and impacted so many different decades of our of our history, advocating for civil rights alongside of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others to create a more fair and just society,” said Allen, pointing to Jackson’s presidential bids as laying the groundwork for future Black leaders like former President Barack Obama.
“It just demonstrates that sometimes when you are going for certain goals, you may not be the one to run through the tape at the end of the finish line, but you’re the one that hands off the baton to the next person so that way they can get through the finish line. And that’s what Jesse Jackson did.”
Like Allen, Hightower also acknowledged Jackson’s influence on today’s Democratic Party.
“If it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t be a Barack Obama; he was one of the shoulders that Barack Obama stood on. He opened the door,” said Hightower. “If it wasn’t for him, there would be no Bernie Sanders, because the platform that Bernie Sanders is on now was actually Jesse Jackson’s platform. The same with AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and all the progressives, that’s Jesse Jackson’s platform.”
Allen also noted the significance of February being Black History Month and Jackson’s place in shaping that history.
“I think it’s very important that we continue to honor the impacts and work of those Black Americans that impacted our country to this day,” said Allen. “When you think of the work of Jesse Jackson, he did uncomfortable work and he wasn’t always politically correct in his moves and his strategy.
“He got into a lot of ‘good trouble,’ like former Congressman John Lewis used to say. That’s something that for myself as a leader, when you’re trying to push fairness and just wanting to create a better society for everyone, sometimes you have to have those uncomfortable conversations.”
Allen said Jackson left the world a better place than when he was born, and that’s something he hopes to accomplish in Peoria and Peoria County.
Hightower said an impactful way to celebrate Jackson’s influence is to stay involved in the political process.
“We are just starting early voting [for the March primary election], so what we can do to honor him the best is to vote,” said Hightower. “That that’s exactly what we need to do to honor his memory.”
