Born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941, he belongs in the company of Rosa Parks, The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, and others who, in the middle years of the past century provided the energy and knowledge that led our country out of the shameful past of legalized segregation and discrimination. Robert Reich provides the full text of Rev. Jackson's speech to the 1988 Democratic National Convention, in Atlanta, which included these words:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lies only a few miles from us tonight. Tonight he must feel good as he looks down upon us. We sit here together, a rainbow, a coalition — the sons and daughters of slavemasters and the sons and daughters of slaves, sitting together around a common table, to decide the direction of our party and our country. His heart would be full tonight.
Rest in peace, Rev. Jackson. We are a better nation for your having been among us.
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