The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Jackson, Jesse
b. 1941
Jesse Jackson, Baptist minister and activist, was chief liaison for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the Chicago Movement. As a North Carolina A&T student, he was active with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Greensboro, taking part in sit-ins. He participated in the Selma voting rights campaign while a student at Chicago Theological Seminary. Jackson was Chicago director and later national director of SCLC's Operation Breadbasket, its economic development program. Part of Dr. King’s inner circle, he was with King when he was assassinated in Memphis. Leaving SCLC in 1971, Jackson formed Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition. He sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1984 and 1988, advocating socio-economic justice. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
Associated Archive Content : 53 results
North and SouthThe SCLC newsletter informs its readers of the recent events that its members have taken part in. Hosea Williams went to Chicago to conduct a voter registration and voter motivation drive. Also, the SCLC's Operation Breadbasket, led by Jesse Jackson, made an agreement with a big food chain company. The company agreed to transfer some accounts from white banks to struggling Negro banks and to offer its Negro customers products manufactured by small Negro firms. |
Note from Dora McDonald to MLKIn this notice, Dora McDonald informed Dr. King that Rev. Jackson visited the office and that he has a engagement for January 1, 1963. |
Operation BreadbasketOperation Breadbasket outlines the results of negotiations between them and the Coca-Cola Bottling Company located in Chicago, Illinois. The negotiations brought about the opening of thirty-nine positions in the company that will be filled by Negro employees. |
Operation BreadbasketRev. Jesse Jackson meets with National Tea Company and Del Farm Foods representatives to sign an agreement that will create jobs for blacks. |
Operation Breadbasket Food Store AgreementEconomic conditions begin to change as High-Low Foods and the ministers of Operation Breadbasket team up to provide better opportunities for African Americans. |
Operation Breadbasket of the SCLCHow to Win Jobs And Influence Businessmen; a speech given by the SCLC'S Operation Breadbasket, discusses job discrimination and the stimulation of Negro businessmen. |
Operation Breadbasket Program Hosts MLKThis program acts as proof of direct action as Dr. King, Reverend Newberry, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Reverend Johnson present Operation Breadbasket to New Friendship Church. |
Operation Breadbasket SeminarThis brochure explains the economic development program "Operation Breadbasket." It consists of Negro and white clergymen of all faiths who are working to build a solid economic base among Negro people. |
Postcard From Jesse Jackson to MLKJesse Jackson doubts that Dr. King will be able to bring God to Albany, Georgia. |
Progress Report from Robert L. Green to SCLC StaffMr. Green sends this report to the SCLC staff concerning the Chicago Adult Education Project (CAEP). He writes of the problems and difficulties concerning black communities such as Lawndale, Illinois. He then goes on to describe what the major objective is and how the CAEP can help communities, like those in Lawndale. He proposes "to develop basic, needed educational tools to improve reading, writing, consumer and personal budget skills, and to provide the project with job-seeking skills." |
Report of Director of Mission DevelopmentRev. Dr. Archie Hargraves was a distinguished urban minister and church leader who served America's cities for more than half a century. In this report he gives a summary of individual organizations under Mission Development, of which he was the Director. All of these organizations aimed to augment employment and economic opportunities for their respective surrounding communities. |
Response to SCLC Attendance at Cooperative League MeetingFollowing up a letter sent by Dr. King's secretary, Dora McDonald, Stanley Dreyer, president of The Cooperative League of the USA, writes to Rev. Jesse Jackson. Mr. Dreyer hopes that it will be possible for Rev. Jackson to be present at the meeting held in Des Plaines, Illinois on August 11. |
SCLC Action Committee MeetingThis critical 2-day strategy meeting of key SCLC staff takes place 2 months prior to the projected start of the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, DC. Dr. King expresses concern that they have not met their target goals for participation. Debate ensues about whether to call off the campaign or push it to a later date, and also whether SCLC should abandon all of its other commitments to ensure the success of this project. Problems and solutions are discussed. Staff assignments made for recruitment of the poor, materials, organizational structure, tentative plan of action, D.C. |
SCLC Report: Operation BreadbasketRev. Fred C. Bennette, Jr. writes a report on Operation Breadbasket. Rev. Bennette "hopes to increase its activity in alleviating the economic plight of the Negro in America." At the culmination of the report, he lists the main cities where the project will be implemented. |
SCLC Retreat November 1967Reverend Andrew Young discusses civil disobedience at the SCLC's retreat in South Carolina. Dr. King and Jesse Jackson also make presentations at the retreat. Jesse Jackson states "we are too conscious of philosophy" and mentions "what's significant to the people is jobs or income." Dr. King talks about upcoming projects that will involve civil disobedience. |
SCLC StaffThis is a list of the SCLC staff members, their positions, and their responsibilities. |
SCLC Staff Meeting - Suggestions and AssignmentsThese notes from a SCLC staff meeting discuss a plan of action for the Chicago Campaign and the Soldier Field rally. The document covers an array of topics, such as advertising, speaking engagements and smaller rallies. |
SCLC Statement from Director of CommunicationsTom Offenburger, SCLC spokesperson, releases a statement to the SCLC staff on future plans for the Poor People's Campaign in Memphis, Tennessee. Plans include marches and boycotts despite "brutal" actions on the behalf of Memphis police. |
Statement by Reverend Jesse JacksonReverend Jesse Jackson gives a report regarding SCLC's Operation Breadbasket. Reverend Jackson states, "There are no riotous fires set aflame in this country that can be put out with water from a rubber hose; the flames must be extinguished by money from an economic hose." |
Support Negro BusinessesFrom November 1966 newspaper ad: "Support Negro Business" advertisement from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. |
Telegram from MLK to Rev. Jesse JacksonDr. King writes to Rev. Jesse Jackson, urgently requesting his presence at a meeting of the Action Committee for Washington. |
The Advances of Operation BreadbasketThis document displays two articles that report on the progress made by "Operation Breadbasket" in Chicago. The first article discusses SCLC's negotiations with High-Low Foods, a Chicago chain that agreed to implement business practices that would serve "Negro-owned" businesses in the community and increase black employment in the company. The second article highlights similar negotiations carried out with National Tea Co., another Chicago based business. Civil Rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Rev. |
The Quiet Work: How to Win Jobs and Influence BusinessmenThis SCLC news release details the history of Operation Breadbasket and its progress in the field of economic opportunity for African-Americans. |