Jesse Louis Jackson

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Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson

	Jesse Louis Jackson is one of America's foremost political figures. Over the past three decades he has played a major role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice. Jackson has been called the "conscience of the nation" and "the great unifier." He is the best-known living American leader in the United States.

Jesse Louis Jackson was born on October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina. A woman who did other people's laundry brought him into this world. The father was her married next door neighbor. Needless to say, Rev. Jackson wasn't dealt the best hand. But, he overcame the obstacles of a lower middle class family; even though his family was criticized, Jackson is now a national figure. In 1957, his stepfather, a postal worker, adopted him as his own son.

Reverend Jackson finished tenth in his high school class and was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. Later, he left U. I. And enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensburo. There he became class president and the civil rights activist began to show himself to the world. After graduating in 1964, he attended the Chicago Theological Seminary until he joined the civil rights movement full time in 1965. Before graduating he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King Jr. King appointed him to t...

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