Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Wednesday, February 18, 2026Wednesday, February 18, 2026Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. Passes Away Peacefully
Jackson Family Issues Statement on Passing
CHICAGO — It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights Leader and Founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family. His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity. A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless - from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote - leaving an indelible mark on history.
Reverend Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, their children - Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline, daughter Ashley Jackson, and grandchildren.
Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.
October 8, 1941- February 17, 2026
Final arrangements will be released by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. (Photo by John L. Alexander, ON AIR Daily News)
He elevated the voices of the voiceless
He elevated the voices of the voiceless
He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Burns Jackson, father, Noah Louis Robinson, and stepfather, Charles Henry Jackson.
"Our father was a servant leader - not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world," said the Jackson family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millios, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by."
Public observance will be held in Chicago. Final arrangements for Rev. Jesse Jackson's celebration of life cervices, including all pubic events, will be released by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org and www.jessejacksonlegacy.com
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson: World Leader, Father and Friend
Two-Time Presidential Candidate Inspired Generations and Made History Every Day
By John L. Alexander, Publisher, ON AIR Daily News
I had the honor and pleasure of being Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.'s personal photographer at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition for 16-plus years. I got to know him as a World Leader, Father and Friend.
As his photographer I experienced history as it happened. Through the lens of my camera, I watched him change the world.
Rev. Jackson dead at 84—God’s assignment over—job well done
By Chinta Strausberg
Reporter/Columnist
ON AIR Daily News
It was 60 years ago Thursday, July 16, 1960, when Jesse Jackson, Sr., along with seven other students were arrested after staging a sit-in at the whites-only Greenville Public Library in Greenville, S.C. He was just 18 years old.
The iconic civil rights leader died around 1 a.m. at his South side home on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, succumbing to the progressive supra nuclear palsy he was diagnosed last November.
I began getting calls around 4 a.m. that Rev. Jackson had died. He may be in God's arms now, but he leaves behind decades of civil rights achievements domestically and internationally that all began when he was arrested as a teenager for opposing segregated libraries in his hometown.
Arrested With The Greenville Eight
Their arrests soon captured the nickname “The Greenville Eight”—a social justice action that changed and chartered Jesse Jackson’s life as one of the world’s most long-distance civil rights activists—a man who was groomed by one of the greatest leaders this country has ever known—his mentor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson was an outstanding student-athlete who graduated from the public schools in Greenville but who later turned down a contract to play baseball for the Chicago White Sox. Instead, he enrolled in the Big10 football powerhouse, the University of Illinois on a football scholarship.
Jackson came home on school break the Christmas of 1959, but he had to do some research; so, he tried to go to Greeneville’s downtown main public library because its colored branch didn’t have the books he needed.
Rev. Jackson said this was during the time when colored people didn’t have the right to vote, didn’t have equal transportation, and it was a time when there were white and Black drinking fountains and separate toilets. Yet young Jackson was shocked to learn that Blacks were barred from using that library only because of the color of their skin. He vowed to return and help end that racist policy.
Making good on his promise, Jackson returned and united with seven other students, now known as the Greenville 8, during his 1960 summer school break. “We broke the mold, and we were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct,” he recalled.
Jackson’s pastor, the Rev. James S. Hall, now 88, who baptized him and who was then vice president of the South Carolina NAACP, paid his bond, but the event caught the eye of the media, and the Greenville City Council closed both the main library and the poorly stocked one-room colored branch. Reportedly fearing a lawsuit, the City Council reopened both libraries.
In retrospect, Rev. Jackson said, “We were brought up under crippling, racist policies.” He said they were the victims of racism; however, “because we fought back and resisted, we have a different America today. Our standing up had an impact upon oppressed people around the world.”
The other students joining Jackson during that library showdown were: Dorris Wright, Hattie Smith Wright, Elaine Means, Willie Joe Wright, Benjamin Downs, Margaree Seawright Crosby and Joan Mattison Daniel.
Reached in Greenville, Dr. Crosby reflected on July 16, 1960. “We wanted to go to the downtown Greenville library. We knew that our parents had paid taxes so that we could use that library as well as anyone else. We were not able to go because we were Black.”
Crosby had just completed her freshman year at South Carolina State University located in Orangeburg, S.C. “We had demonstrated in downtown Orangeburg going to the lunch counters and the library. I remember marching downtown in Orangeburg with a group of hundreds of students, and they stopped us with the water hoses and tear gas.
“At that time, I felt terrible because we could not go downtown to the lunch counters and sit down,” Crosby said, explaining that these protests happened just before she came back home to Greenville for her summer break in July of 1960.
Protesting Lunch Counter and Libraries
She said after meeting with Rev. Hall on a Saturday morning, they decided they would go to the downtown Greenville library and read a book. “We walked uptown to the library and sat down. The director told us to go upstairs. We went upstairs, very nice and polite, but they then told us we could not be in that library because it was not for us Black people.”
Crosby said they went back to the church where Rev. Hall was but when they told him what happened, she said Hall asked them why they left. When they told him that if they had not left, they would have been arrested, Hall told them, “maybe that is what we wanted them to do.”
The students went back to the library, selected a book and sat down, but within five or ten minutes the police arrived. “I remember one officer tapping me on the shoulders saying, “I am going to ask you three times to leave, and if you don’t, I will take you to jail, and he did just that. He did the same thing with the other seven.”
“We were arrested just for going to the library to read a book.” Crosby said it was an awful experience. She said two lawyers and a bondsman bailed them out of jail.
After their arrests, Crosby said their names and home addresses were published in the newspapers, and they began to get death threats and hate calls. “It was frightening, but we did what we had to do.”
“We went to court, but the judge threw the case out and opened the library for everybody; so, within two weeks the library in downtown Greenville in 1960 was opened for everybody. I felt great.
“We won back in 1960, and I will never forget what happened that day. I was very proud of myself. This has been a part of my life for 60 years,” Crosby said.
She is now a professor emeritus at Clemson University where she taught elementary and early childhood education classes. When she and Jackson were high school students, that college was for whites only.
When Rev. Jackson was running for president, Crosby introduced him to her students. The library experience has been a light that has given her the hope and strength to strive for higher heights.
Reporter Chinta Strausberg after an interview with Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
For Rev. Jackson, his first arrest also “triggered a whole dynamic for the world to see,” and it changed his life and mission to fight for equal rights and social justice for the downtrodden. “I thank God that I have been and still am a long-distance runner.”
Reflecting on that era, Rev. Jackson said, “The right to vote came in 1965 and that became the turning point. Once we got the right to vote, it took some years for us to overcome the fear of voting and it began to make way for a new South.”
Listing a string of accomplishments by Blacks, Rev. Jackson, who ran for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, said, “When the walls came down like the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas, we transformed the South and opened the doors.” His presidential run helped to increase Black voter registration, leading to the election of many Black candidates across the nation.
A New Phase in The Civil Rights Movement
As we enter the new phase of the Civil Rights Movement, Rev. Jackson said, “You see Blacks and whites marching together” after the Minneapolis police-related murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement that is being supported by Blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics across the nation. We’re learning how to live together,” Jackson said. “It’s a new South.”
“Racism is a crippling disease,” he said. “It is a sin. When laws change, behaviors change.”
Rev. Jackson is hosting a virtual town hall meeting at 2:00 p.m. (CST), Thursday, July 16, where the Greenville Eight students can reminisce about the day, they took on a racist southern system and won five years before the bloody and deadly fight for the right to vote.
From 1959 to the 2026 Rainbow PUSH Coalition Dr. King’s breakfast, he was still giving orders including to Senator Tammy Duckworth who said she still receives messages from him about her diaper program Jackson had worked with her distributing diapers to mothers who didn’t have enough money to purchase what their babies needed.
While Jackson may be gone, his legacy lives on in an era where we are losing civil rights leaders willing to put their lives on the line for justice just as Rev. Jackson put his life on the line so many times until God decided his assignment was over and it was time to come back home.
Rest in peace, Rev. Jackson and thank you for the many exclusives you gave me as a reporter for the Chicago Defender and the Chicago Crusader newspapers.
Thank you for your service for the millions of people you have touched, gained freedom for so many hostages, and for being the inspiration that triggered the registration of more than 2 million voters you registered during your 1984 and 1988 presidential runs.
Because of that, we got our first Black president, Barack Obama. It was your battle, your energy that made that happen.
Books on Childhood Multilingual Skills Encourage Early Literacy
Cultural Illustrations Build High Self Esteem With Positive Images
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Author Rahsaan Liddell, fluent in Chinese as well as English, was among the authors whose books encourage parents to impart multilingual, multicultural skills to their children at an early age to build their language skills and prepare them for a world in which language presents no boundaries to building harmonious relationships. Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
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Cultural Illustrations Build High Self Esteem With Positive Images
Books on Childhood Multilingual Skills Encourage Early Literacy
A well written book that provides clear instructions and teaches critical skills that can start a person on a successful career path can helps families bypass the cost of college and avoid major debt, as author and electrician LeShawn Sanders explains while presenting his book "How To Become an Electrician Without College Or Debt." Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
Cultural Illustrations Build High Self Esteem With Positive Images
Cultural Illustrations Build High Self Esteem With Positive Images
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Talented illustrators creatively express the ideas of building self esteem and cultural pride, with images that define books with themes reflecting a positive racial identity such as author Kristen Telly's book "Good Hair, Bad Hair" which addresses attitudes that are necessary in order to affirm a child's own unique beauty. Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
Music, Poetry and Spoken Word Performances Entertain Buyers
Aspiring Writers Learn About The Business of Getting Published
Cultural Illustrations Build High Self Esteem With Positive Images
YuNi'YAH E., author of the book "Love Is...YAH" was among the multi-talented authors who shared poetry and spoken word with Soulful Chicago Book Fair attendees. The DJ played soulful music intermittently to accentuate the theme of the event, which showcased black authors and their original works. Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
Authors Offer Books For Schools and Homeschooling Parents
Aspiring Writers Learn About The Business of Getting Published
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Parents are encouraged to create a home library to supplement knowledge not offered at many public schools. Author Johnni Dahl's workbook reinforces history lessons on black scientists and inventors and inspires youth to explore the possibilities of becoming scientists and inventors themselves. Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
Aspiring Writers Learn About The Business of Getting Published
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Author and publisher Heather Byrd of Byrd's World Publishing provided a special session during the Book Fair at Little Black Pearl for those writers who envision one day getting their creative works published, in order to prepare them for the business of writing books to be distributed to the public. Photo by Naimah Latif/ON AIR Daily News.
Kamala Harris Addresses Mayor's Interfaith Breakfast
Mayor Brandon Johnson Presents Champion of Freedom Award to Mrs. Jacqueline Jackson
By Evangel Mamadee Yhwhnewbn
Columnist, ON AIR Daily News
The welcoming 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Interfaith Breakfast on January 16, 2026, at the Fairmont Hotel located on 200 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois; this year’s theme commemorating his life and work was “Defending Our Democracy, Protecting Our Rights,” began with excerpts from his April 3, 1968, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop;” his last speech. He was assassinated the next day, April 4th.
Honoring this year’s theme: the Champion of Freedom Award was presented to Pastor
David Black and Jacqueline L. Jackson. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said these
awardees have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to uplifting our people and exemplifies the spirit of this award, which honors individuals, who unite and heal our communities.
Mayor Johnson said he was honored to recognize them for the many ways they strengthen Chicago and continue to advance equality.
Although, former Madam Vice President Kamala Harris, who served as the 49th Vice
President of the United States, making history as the first Asian American and Black
American to hold that office, was the Keynote Speaker, introduced by Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the 70th Speaker of the House of Representatives, it was Mrs. Jackie Jackson who torched our hearts with her accepting the award on behalf of all the People who championed her life, from when she was part of the future to now as part of the past.
She began with thanking her 17 year old, mother that allowed her to have life and she did not have to. She taught her to have an insult level. She talked about standing on the
broad shoulders of her husband, Jesse Jackson and the shoulders they stood on.
They wanted a tough town, Chicago is her kind of town and she thanked Frank Sinatra for singing it. She thanked her babysitters, housekeepers, Rev. Clay Evans and Addie Wyatt.
She was given a gift, not for her house but for her mind. "Let no one have power over you but God," she said. She told us to become the good person you want to see. She talked about 2 men. The 1st man Christ and the Golden Rule, treat everybody right.
The 2nd man was Rev. Dr. King, Jr. She mentioned his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the March on Washington and talked about the insufficient funds. She called him, "the Most Prophetic Voice of our Century. "
"As you said, you were part of the future and being blessed because your days are long on the land that the Lord your God has given you; makes you part of the past but you live in the present, a gift that is needed in times like these."
John L. Alexander, Publisher of ON AIR Daily News, shares a moment with former VP Kamala Harris during Mayor Brandon Johnson's Dr. King Interfaith Breakfast January 16, 2026. Photo by City of Chicago.
The former Vice President said, “Mayor Johnson has championed the Spirit of Chicago and we thank God for him."
She said Rev. Dr, King loved America. A child beaten beyond recognition, the people were sick and tired of being sick and tired, in classes and on the street. She thought as she stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, yesterday, what would he think; sick and tired of being sick and tired.
"Social influencers taking control of our children and our lives. Calling the Civil Rights
Movement, reverse segregation. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Isolation
and loneliness has led to despair and people are angry and resigned themselves that it is
going to be that way; we’re turning on each other. Instead of throwing up or hands, let’s
roll up our sleeves because we are sick and tired of being sick and tired. In the Spirit of
Chicago, it is time to bear down.”
She got a standing ovation.
Mrs, Jacqueline Jackson, wife of Rainbow PUSH Coalition Founder Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, and long time Civil Rights Activist, graciously accepts the Champion of Freedom Award presented by Mayor Brandon Johnson at the 40th Annual Dr. King Interfaith Breakfast. Photo By Evangel Mamadee Yhwhnewbn/ON AIR Daily News
ON AIR Daily News Publisher and Senior Photographer John L. Alexander, former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Mayor's wife FIrst Lady Stacie Johnson and Mayor Brandon Johnson pause for a moment to reflect on the progress made since the time of Dr. King' and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The former Vice President was keynote speaker at the 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Breakfast held Friday January 16, 2026 at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Chicago. While encouraging citizens to stand up for their rights despite a seemingly hostile Washington Administration, former Vice President Harris, conscious of the upcoming Bears game at Soldier Field Sunday January 18th,, told Chicagoans to "Bear down" a remark that drew thunderous applause. Photo by City of Chicago.
Annual Rainbow PUSH King Celebration Draws Elected Officials
Leaders Remember Dr. King's Message To Strive For Equality
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition, founded by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., entertained a packed house at its annual Dr King Celebration held on the official King Holiday. It drew a wide array of leaders in government, business, community organizing, education and of course, the clergy. Among those attending included Senator Tammy Duckworth. Presiding over he event was Rainbow PUSH Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Yusef Jackson. Of the Who's Who in Political Royalty at Rainbow PUSH 36th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on Monday, January 19, 2026, speaking at the V.I.P. and Media Reception "Building a Beloved Community" only Cook County Treasurer, Melissa Conyears Ervin, talked about I.N.A.A. (Indigenous Negro American Africans) are facing a net worth of $0 (zero) dollars. (Photo by Evangel Mamadee Yhwhnewbn/ON AIR Daily News
Columnist Urges Support of King Days as Regular Commemoration
ON AIR Daily News Reporter and Columnist Evangel Mamadee Yhwhnewbn, speaking on The Female Solution Global Broadcast Wednesday January 21, 2026, pointed out the role of children in the Civil Rights Movement and is urging ongoing recognition of this history. See the interview at https://www.youtube.com/live/5WwyEjPFKvU?si=bPn8Y60k1plhGKJG
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