Rev. Al Sharpton Says Rev. Jesse Jackson 'Taught Me Activism'

Political and Civil Rights leaders are reacting to the news that Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. died at 84 on February 17.

One of them was Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King. Reverend Al Sharpton made an appearance on Morning Joe to talk about Rev. Jackson’s legacy and what he learned from him.

Why Rev. Jesse Jackson Didn’t Run for President Again

“He definitely was the most definitive teacher in my life, including he teased me. We used to do a show on CNN, Both Sides. He said he was training me for politics nation,” Rev. Sharpton, 71, said. The reverend was asked why his teacher didn’t run for president again after placing second in 1988’s nominating campaigns.

“He basically was not a politician,” he answered. “He was one that saw politics as a means and not an end. And he saw himself fighting in the social policy arena.” Rev. Sharpton said Rev. Jackson was focused on immigration policies, women’s rights and racial profiling. “He felt he could be better with a broader context and he was going global.”

Saddam Hussein’s soldiers took British, American, French, and Canadian citizens as hostages in 1990 while invading Kuwait. Rev. Jackson went to Baghdad to negotiate for their freedom. He completed that goal a few days later. The negotiator reunited with the five-year-old boy, Stuart Lockwood, in London 19 years later, according to St. Louis American.

“This had never been done in the Civil Rights movement. It had never been done at that level,” Rev. Sharpton said. “Jesse Jackson broke ground that no one had done.” He explained that he paved the way for President Barack Obama by defending the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Rev. Jackson registered many voters to prepare for his future presidential run, and that changed Congress two years later. The rule changed for delegates, and that led to President Obama’s nomination decades later.