As tributes poured in after the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former Vice President Kamala Harris issued a remembrance that framed the longtime civil rights leader as a unifying force whose reach stretched well beyond the moments that made headlines.
In a statement released following Jackson’s passing, Harris called him “one of America’s greatest patriots,” crediting him with pushing the country to match its actions to its founding promises while also assembling the alliances needed to turn those ideals into lived reality.
Jackson, who was born in Greenville, South Carolina, rose to prominence as a young organizer during the Civil Rights Movement and later became a consequential figure in national politics. Harris pointed to his presidential bids in 1984 and 1988 as watershed efforts that brought new energy into the electorate and showed what could happen when political power was built through a wider, more inclusive coalition.
Harris said Jackson repeatedly elevated people who believed the political system had little room for them, and she traced the scope of his advocacy across the country and abroad. In her account, his work connected communities from Washington, D.C., to the Bay Area, from the Mississippi Delta to Appalachia, and also reached internationally, including in South Africa. In places such as Chicago, she added, he urged neighborhoods to recognize their own dignity and leverage.
Harris also included a story from early in her own life, recalling her days as a law student commuting between Oakland and San Francisco. She said she put a “Jesse Jackson for President” bumper sticker on her car, and as she drove over the Bay Bridge she noticed honks and supportive gestures from drivers of all backgrounds. The memory, she said, reflected Jackson’s capacity to bring working people together and forge coalitions that crossed lines of race and culture.
Beyond Jackson’s public record, Harris described him as someone who mattered personally to her. She said she had been honored to work alongside him during her career and was thankful for time they spent together earlier this year, calling him a selfless leader, a mentor and a friend.
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, offered condolences to Jackson’s wife, Jacqueline, along with their children and grandchildren, and extended sympathies to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition as well as supporters in the United States and worldwide.
Harris closed by invoking Jackson’s signature exhortation, “Keep hope alive,” saying the words remain a directive for those who follow him and a reminder of a life devoted to widening the meaning and practice of American democracy.
