NFHA Joins the Nation in Mourning and Celebrating the Life of Civil Rights Leader and Humanitarian Rev. Jesse Jackson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NFHA Joins the Nation in Mourning and Celebrating the Life of Civil Rights Leader and Humanitarian Rev. Jesse Jackson
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA™) mourns the loss and celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Rev. Jackson devoted his life to the cause of racial justice and civil rights. He was instrumental in elevating open and fair housing as a national civil rights priority, challenging racial segregation and redlining in Chicago and nationwide and leading the drive for nondiscriminatory financial services. Rev. Jackson also dedicated his life to advocating for peace and democracy, and demanding economic justice for people living in disinvested urban communities to those residing in rural Appalachia.
A protégé of the late great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jackson worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference directing its Operation Breadbasket initiative, Rev. Jackson’s work bridged the civil rights movements’ call for racial justice and equality for Black people in the U.S. to championing economic equality as a core tenant of racial justice.
After his historic political campaigns in 1984 and 1988, which opened the doors for leaders like President Barack Obama, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition continued championing equal employment opportunities, open housing, fair lending, and voting rights, among other issues. Under his leadership, Rainbow PUSH became a force in the movement for fair banking access with its Wall Street Project. This leadership extended to applying pressure on industries from sports and entertainment to education to truly represent America’s rich and broad diversity, and opened opportunity for thousands of people of color and women to have the ability to advance on corporate ladders.
Rev. Jackson’s commitment to advancing civil and human rights led him to negotiate the safe release of numerous U.S. hostages and political prisoners from foreign nations in his personal capacity. Additionally, he helped to broker peaceful resolutions with Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, Cuba, and Liberia as a humanitarian—advancing human and civil rights across the world.
In the early 2000s, Rev. Jackson led the charge against the growing emergence of reverse redlining and predatory lending practices that were devastating Black and Latino communities and robbing families of their ability to build wealth. As a staunch advocate against abusive financial services, he led the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in partnering with communities, civil rights and consumer protection organizations to pass anti-predatory lending reforms in many states. He was an ardent champion of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and critical to its passage and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
In congressional testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs that was led by Sen. Dodd in 2007, Rev. Jackson stated:
“We must enforce laws against racial discrimination. We must greenline the redline zones and zip coded zones and use Government-private partnerships to break this pattern. We must see the underserved markets as an opportunity for growth and development rather than exploitation and unscrupulous profiteering.”
NFHA honors Rev. Jackson’s legacy by continuing to advance fair and affordable housing and building diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities for everyone.
We hold Mrs. Jackson, the Jackson family, and Rainbow PUSH’s extended staff in our thoughts and prayers.
For interviews, please e-mail NFHA Senior Advisor for Communications, Marketing, and Education Julian Glover at JGlover@NationalFairHousing.org
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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.