Jesse Jackson - the body of work

Jesse Jackson (1941–2026) was a towering civil rights leader, two-time presidential candidate (1984, 1988), and international diplomat who reshaped American politics and social justice. Key achievements include founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, registering millions of voters, securing the release of international hostages, and championing anti-apartheid efforts

Synopsis of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Originally founded by the Black Panthers in Chicago in 1969, and later re-founded by Jesse Jackson in 1984 as a national political organization for the marginalized.

Jackson spearheaded a political strategy that made it ill-advised to ignore the black vote.

Achievements

PUSH united Black, Latino, and poor southern white and mainstream voters who supported Jackson in two presidential campaigns.

Following the huge vote Ronald Reagan garnered, Jackson registered 2 million new voters, earning him the nickname “Washington, D.C. shadow senator” because the Black community held the margin for the victory at the polls, said TheGardian.com.

Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), founded by Jesse Jackson in 1971, achieved significant milestones in economic empowerment, corporate accountability, and social justice, primarily by leveraging boycotts and negotiations to expand opportunities for African Americans.

Many of Jackson's negotiations were done behind the scenes and in boardrooms. That explains why many are unaware of the many corporate changes that Jackson has effected over the decades.

For example, many corporations had a pathetic history of not hiring Blacks.  But then Jackson held their feet to the fire, and they started hiring Blacks.

It’s not surprising to many on the streets that some corporations didn’t take kindly to what felt like coercion. Such business leaders are silent about their complicity to the systemic exclusion of Blacks for decades.

Many anticipate a comprehensive list of PUSH's accomplishments. In the meantime, here is a partial list of major companies that spoke with Jackson and began hiring Black employees.

Coca-Cola $30 million

Anheuser-Busch

Burger King

Seven-Up

Ford Motor Co.Coors

Southland Corp (7-Eleven)

Heublein, Inc.

Nike

Churches Chicken

High-Low Foods

Country’s Delight Dairy

Borden’s Dairy

Hawthorn-Mellody Dairy

Goldman Sachs

Intel

Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, Salesfore, Twitter NBC

Standard Oil

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