Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. announced Friday that he was stepping down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson, who posted the news on social media, reportedly made the announcement during a convention to the coalition last weekend, staying he plans to name a successor in the coming weeks.
A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jackson was key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights.
“The resignation of Rev. Jesse Jackson is the pivoting of one of the most productive, prophetic, and dominant figures in the struggle for social justice in American history," Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement as the news became public. "It was my honor, since my mother brought me to him at 12 years old to serve as the youth director for the New York chapter of Operation Breadbasket, down through the last decade, to have been a student and protégé of his. I and others who were a dozen years or so younger from him have gone on to build and lead national organizations, in the generational tradition he started after being mentored by Dr. King. Therefore, we think of him retiring, but rather that he has planted and nurtured seeds that are growing beyond his own organization. We are doing work in various organizations and various political offices that continue his mission."
The announcement comes as Jackson battles Parkinson's disease, though the reason for his departure was not released.
"Despite his health challenges these last several years, he has constantly been there with us, whether it was George Floyd’s funeral or other struggles that he trained some of us for," Sharpton said. "Just recently he was at the National Action Network’s headquarters in Harlem, which he named ‘The House of Justice’ when we opened it more than 30 years ago. We hope to continue in a way that makes him proud, as he pivots into teaching and mentoring. When I spoke with him this morning, I told him that we will continue to glean from him and learn from him and duplicate him in whatever our organizations and media platforms are. Because he has been an anchor for me and many others.”
News of Jackson's departure comes as the Rainbow PUSH Coalition is set to host its international convention beginning Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris is among the high-profile names slated to appear at the convention.
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Jackson founded the coalition, which is dedicated to "social change," in 1996.
"Our mission is to protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice around the world," the coalition's website reads.
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