REMEMBERING THE BEGINNING OF THE RAINBOW
GADFLIES THROUGH HISTORY SERIES profiling the biggest rebels and weirdos that freaked the world out and then changed it forever.
Any African American born in South Carolina during the 1940s would have had objective reasons to be discouraged. The Jim Crow South did not present this group of Americans with many opportunities other than racism and second-class citizenship. Black children going to school had to ride the back of the bus and face daily discrimination once they got there. The world waiting for them when they matured was not any better.
However, today we honor a man who ignored these challenges and triumphed to become class president, work with iconic leaders, run for president of the United States, and even become a minister. On February 17, 2026, Jesse Jackson passed away, but we will forever remember him, especially during Black History Month, as well as his extraordinary and quite literally colorful legacy.
Mr. Jackson did not begin his career focused on redrawing the color line. Rather, his star burst out following a sports career as a football quarterback and then an education in theology. Disgusted with the bigotry of his childhood, he ventured north to pursue a degree at the University of Illinois. Unfortunately, while playing and studying there, he encountered racism akin to the treatment he experienced in the South. This motivated him to return to his roots. Those events, combined with the burgeoning civil rights movement, and particularly the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, inspired him not only to jump headlong into the struggle for equality but also, like he had before in school and sports, to lead others in that endeavor.
Refusing to sit on the sidelines, Mr. Jackson quickly enlisted with others and began fighting back against the systemic racism and blatant bigotry as common in the South as its cherished flowers and trees. In 1965, Jesse joined hundreds of other peaceful protesters in Alabama to march from Selma to Montgomery. Local authorities met them at the Edmund Pettus Bridge before violently attacking them and blocking their way forward. While that day was a bloody failure, literally, the event drew many previously apathetic Americans to the cause of civil rights and triggered a national movement. This could not have transpired but for the bravery of those there that day, including Jesse.
His actions and personality quickly attracted attention, and not from minor figures. Martin Luther King Jr. himself took a liking and a mentorship role over Jesse Jackson. Jesse would even be at the scene of the great leader’s death several years later as a testament to the bond they formed. Eying his natural charisma and leadership abilities, King put Jackson to work.
King sent Jackson back to Chicago, where he had studied theology after leaving the University of Illinois, to lead the local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Jesse got to work organizing boycotts against white-owned companies. The goal of the boycotts was to pressure white-owned businesses to work with black-owned businesses. Their efforts also tried to rally public support around hiring black people in both white- and black-owned companies. Eventually, Jesse Jackson would run the national office of the SCLC.
After some time, Jesse wanted to go off and lead in his own right. In the early 1970s, he formed Operation PUSH: People United to Serve Humanity. Like the SCLC, PUSH concentrated on increasing employment options for African Americans. Interestingly, its mission did not stop there. PUSH also advocated for raising wages and job options for poor people of any race. This foreshadowed Jackson’s subsequent evolution from being a leader in the civil rights movement to a leader in the American landscape in general. However, unlike with the SCLC, the intended audience of PUSH’s efforts was the political class instead of the business community.
Jesse’s transformation from an issue-based to broad-based figure across the country was most seen in his work with the Rainbow Coalition. Initially formed by Fred Hampton in the late 1960s, the Rainbow Coalition sought to alleviate the effects of bigotry, poverty, and institutional racism, especially in the form of police brutality. Jackson took over leadership in the early 1980s. He organized all sorts of people under its banner: Black, White, Asian, Native American, and others.
Beyond any issue the Rainbow Coalition advocated for or against, their methods of advocacy leave behind a more formidable legacy. They guide us just like a rainbow in our modern efforts to unite for progress. Rather than appeal to their existing fans or seek confirmation from their original backgrounds, leaders like Jesse built a “united front” of citizens with all kinds of looks, views, hometowns, and orientations. This example should guide us towards the freedom we desire for generations to come.
Yet, who will lead as Jesse did? Who will rally others towards our common goals? Who will step aside from their provincial perch and point society towards the trail with many colors that Jesse Jackson started? In an era that rewards leaders for doing the opposite, some might view this as a fool’s errand. On the other hand, this pursuit might be the only way we can all find the American Dream at the end of the rainbow.
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