‘Red, Yellow, Black, Brown, White, we are all precious in God’s sight’: Lincoln pastor remembers Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84, after a lengthy battle with a neuromuscular disease.

A Lincoln faith leader reflected on the many times he accompanied Jackson during his work on the civil rights movement and his peaceful push for social change in the USA and the world.

As a reverend himself, Pastor John Harris spoke of the legacy Jackson left behind.

“His legacy is cemented as not only a person from the civil rights movement, but a person throughout his own organization that sought the betterment of people, sought the uplift of people, sought the elevation of the human spirit,” said Harris.

He also shared about the personal time he spent directly with Jackson.

“As a part of the media services, I had the responsibility for following them around and so forth, videotaping,” he said.

Harris recalled seeing Jackson walking around in a sweatshirt, as one of Dr. Martin Luther King’s youngest cohorts.

He explained how Jackson coined several galvanizing terms, such as ‘I am somebody.’

“I think for African Americans who had been saddled with this idea of inferiority, this idea that we were less than and so forth, true minorities, and not only in status, but in mentality, the idea that you could say, I am somebody, oh, man, it was powerful,” he said.

Harris painted a picture of Jackson entering rooms, shaking everyone’s hands, and starting to talk about his vision for America, especially during his first presidential campaign in 1984 and again in 1988.

An era that did not come without controversy.

“You know, Reverend Jackson was a controversial figure in many ways,” he said.

Rev. Jackson had become embroiled in some controversy for his comments about the Jewish community during his 1984 presidential run, remarks he later apologized for and ultimately remembered as a unifying figure.

“Red, yellow, black, brown, white, we are all precious in God’s sight,” said Rev. Jackson during a televised speech.

Harris also pointed out a lesser-known fact about Jackson, noting that he worked as a hostage negotiator overseas.

Jackson mediated the return of several Americans captured by Serbian forces in 1999. Their return shocked many Americans.

“Many people thought, he’s not going to do anything, but when he actually did it, I thought about not just the power of diplomacy or politics, but of relationships. It was his charisma, it was the things he said to convince the opposition, to say, you know what, let’s give these people back,” said Harris.

Jackson’s family says he died peacefully at home in Chicago.