Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson is a notable civil rights activist, Baptist minister, one-time Democratic presidential candidate (1994) and father of Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. In the 1960s Jackson participated in the civil rights movement, marching alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and serving as national director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the steering organization for the civil rights protests. After falling out with the leadership of the SCLC, Jackson founded Operation Push (later Rainbow/Push) to help further rights of underserved communities.  An international operator, Jackson has negotiated the release of Americans held captive in Cuba, Iraq and Syria.