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• Civil rights activist, Baptist minister and politician Jesse Jackson is the founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Jackson is also the former District of Columbia Shadow Senator.

• Fast Facts

  1. Birth name: Jesse Louis Burns
  2. Born October 8, 1941
  3. Birthplace: Greenville, South Carolina
  4. Assumed office: January, 1991
  5. Left office: January, 1997
  6. Succeeded by: Paul Strauss
  7. Alma mater: North Carolina A&T
  8. Spouse: Jacqueline Lavinia Brown
  9. Had an affair with Karin Stanford
  10. Has six children
  11. Party: Democratic
  12. Son: Congressman Jesse E. Jackson Jr.

• Key Dates

  1. 1965: Part of the Selma to Montgomery marches
  2. 1966: Martin Luther King Jr. selected him to head the SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket
  3. 1967: Made national director of Operation Breadbasket
  4. 1968: Ordained
  5. 1984: Ran for presidency and founded the Rainbow Coalition
  6. 1988: Ran for presidency again
  7. 1990: Awarded honorary theological doctorate from Chicago
  8. 1996: Rainbow Coalition merged with Operation Push
  9. 1997: Met with Daniel Arap Moi, the Kenyan President
  10. 2000: Earned Master of Divinity Degree
  11. 2005: Began working with "Operation Black Vote"

• Jackson and Obama

  On July 9, 2008, it was reported that Jesse Jackson unknowingly mumbled into a mike that was turned on, "I want to cut his nuts off," about Presidential candidate Barack Obama. The comment was said during a taped interview with Fox News. Jackson also said that Obama was "talking down to blacks." Jackson did not realize he was being recorded at the time and apologized for his "crude and hurtful" remarks. The interview first aired on The O'Reilly Factor.New York Post: Jesse Jackson Says He Wants To Cut Obama's 'Nuts Out' (July 9, 2008) At Obama's victory rally on November 4, 2008, Jackson openly wept.

• Quotes

  "My support for Senator Obama's campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal. I cherish this redemptive and historical moment." -Jesse JacksonNew York Post: Jesse Jackson Says He Wants To Cut Obama's 'Nuts Out' (July 9, 2008)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Al Sharpton | Don Imus | Martin Luther King Jr. | Hugo Chavez | Democratic Party | Barack Obama | Use of Racial Slurs | Michael Richards | Terri Schiavo | Jesse Jackson Jr. | Jesse Jackson Hospitalized | Sandi Jackson

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