Jesse Jackson Is The Most Important Figure In U.S. Political History
Jesse Jackson
When  the Rev. Jesse Jackson  announced in November that  he ’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease   he  was not spared by the ruthless news cycle.
 Jackson ’s name scrolled along bright red tickers for only the brief  intermittent moments between chaos.  His  announcement was largely crowded out by news of the GOP tax bill and sexual assault allegations against Democratic Sen. Al Franken. As  his  revelation traveled across the Web  unfounded rumors of  his  imminent death caused a brief reflection on what  Jackson  meant to  his  nation.
But  Jackson ’s legacy is worthy of deeper scrutiny — albeit a scrutiny spurred by  his  ill condition — particularly as the United States feels the tremors from waves  he  helped create.
Race is the most potent force in American politics  and no one has navigated it and manipulated it for longer  and with greater stature  than  the Rev. Jesse Jackson .  His  complicated history reveals one whose influence is perhaps further reaching and more implicative of our nation than any other since its beginnings.
Barack Obama’s presidency unveiled a flood of overt racism that has  to date  imperiled the United States domestically and exposed the nation abroad. And to credit Obama for this is also to credit  Jackson  for providing Obama with a methodology for political success  thus influencing the arc of our national history in incomparable ways.
Tom Williams via Getty Images  Jesse Jackson  with then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the 109th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 4  2005.
In the 1970s   Jackson  emerged as the civil rights movement’s foremost vestige.  He ’d outlived or outgrown  his  cadre of activist contemporaries from the late-1960s — the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. among them — and spent a significant portion of the decade compiling a portfolio of global activist work.
By the 1984 Democratic primaries   Jackson  had reified  himself  in American culture as a thought leader on civil rights  to the dismay of some who’d accused  him  of carpetbagging for years  and any study of  Jackson ’s political significance requires noting the privileges afforded  him . A concoction of racism and sexism had  up to then  inhibited Americans from allowing black women to ascend similarly in politics  even though a Shirley Chisholm or Barbara Jordan may have been more qualified.
Nonetheless   Jackson  consolidated enough heft among Southern blacks and disillusioned whites to win contests in Louisiana  Mississippi and South Carolina during  his  1984 bid.
 His  soaring speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention conceded victory to  his  opponents  but it provided a framework for Democratic politics that still holds.
“Our flag is red  white and blue  but our nation is a rainbow ― red  yellow  brown  black and white ”  Jackson  said  “and we’re all precious in God’s sight.”
 Jackson  concluded  his  speech by professing  “Our time has come. Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. In the end  faith will not disappoint.”
This strategy proved fruitful for  Jackson  in the 1988 election cycle.  Jackson  tripled  his  share of white voters from 1984 to 1988  improved upon  his  support in the South and captured victories in 13 contests  including Michigan.  His  failed-but-competitive candidacy modeled a path forward for Democrats  who  as today  sought to encircle rural white voters in the electorate when it seemed they’d secured the black vote reliably.
Obama praised  Jackson  during his 2008 candidacy  saying he “set a precedent for African Americans running for the highest office in the land.”
Cheryl Chenet/Corbis via Getty Images  The Rev. Jesse Jackson  hugs former New York congresswoman and presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm in 1983 after announcing  his  candidacy for the U.S. presidency.
 America’s first black president  inflicted a psychic trauma upon  his  nation.
When  [TGT]announced in November that  [TGT] ’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease   [TGT]  was not spared by the ruthless news cycle.
 Jackson ’s name scrolled along bright red tickers for only the brief  intermittent moments between chaos.  His  announcement was largely crowded out by news of the GOP tax bill and sexual assault allegations against Democratic Sen. Al Franken. As  his  revelation traveled across the Web  unfounded rumors of  his  imminent death caused a brief reflection on what  Jackson  meant to  his  nation.
But  Jackson ’s legacy is worthy of deeper scrutiny — albeit a scrutiny spurred by  his  ill condition — particularly as the United States feels the tremors from waves  he  helped create.
Race is the most potent force in American politics  and no one has navigated it and manipulated it for longer  and with greater stature  than [TGT] .  [TGT]  complicated history reveals one whose influence is perhaps further reaching and more implicative of our nation than any other since its beginnings.
Barack Obama’s presidency unveiled a flood of overt racism that has  to date  imperiled the United States domestically and exposed the nation abroad. And to credit Obama for this is also to credit  Jackson  for providing Obama with a methodology for political success  thus influencing the arc of our national history in incomparable ways.
Tom Williams via Getty Images  Jesse Jackson  with then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the 109th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 4  2005.
In the 1970s   [TGT]emerged as the civil rights movement’s foremost vestige.  [TGT] ’d outlived or outgrown  [TGT]  cadre of activist contemporaries from the late-1960s — the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. among them — and spent a significant portion of the decade compiling a portfolio of global activist work.
By the 1984 Democratic primaries   Jackson  had reified  himself  in American culture as a thought leader on civil rights  to the dismay of some who’d accused  him  of carpetbagging for years  and any study of  Jackson ’s political significance requires noting the privileges afforded  him . A concoction of racism and sexism had  up to then  inhibited Americans from allowing black women to ascend similarly in politics  even though a Shirley Chisholm or Barbara Jordan may have been more qualified.
Nonetheless   Jackson  consolidated enough heft among Southern blacks and disillusioned whites to win contests in Louisiana  Mississippi and South Carolina during  his  1984 bid.
 His  soaring speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention conceded victory to  his  opponents  but it provided a framework for Democratic politics that still holds.
“Our flag is red  white and blue  but our nation is a rainbow ― red  yellow  brown  black and white ”  Jackson  said  “and we’re all precious in God’s sight.”
 Jackson  concluded  his  speech by professing  “Our time has come. Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. In the end  faith will not disappoint.”
This strategy proved fruitful for  Jackson  in the 1988 election cycle.  Jackson  tripled  his  share of white voters from 1984 to 1988  improved upon  his  support in the South and captured victories in 13 contests  including Michigan.  His  failed-but-competitive candidacy modeled a path forward for Democrats  who  as today  sought to encircle rural white voters in the electorate when it seemed they’d secured the black vote reliably.
Obama praised  Jackson  during his 2008 candidacy  saying he “set a precedent for African Americans running for the highest office in the land.”
Cheryl Chenet/Corbis via Getty Images  The Rev. Jesse Jackson  hugs former New York congresswoman and presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm in 1983 after announcing  his  candidacy for the U.S. presidency.
 America’s first black president  inflicted a psychic trauma upon  his  nation.