Thousands gathered at the House of Hope on Friday for “The People’s Celebration,” a massive public homegoing service for the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., the civil rights icon and “ambassador of hope” who died on Feb. 17 at age 84.
The March 6 service, which felt at times like a high-energy church revival and at others like a historic political summit, drew a roster of world leaders including former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden, alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris. Throughout the five-hour service, the 10,000-seat arena rang with Jackson’s iconic mantra: “I am! Somebody!”
A Legacy of ‘Stepping Forward’
Former President Barack Obama, who delivered a moving eulogy, compared Jackson to the biblical prophet Isaiah. “When the poor and the dispossessed needed a champion and the country needed healing, Jesse stepped forward again and again and said: ‘Send me,'” Obama told the crowd. He credited Jackson’s 1980s presidential runs with “paving the road” for his own journey to the White House.
The spiritual foundations of Jackson’s work were centered throughout the morning. The service was officiated by Rev. James T. Meeks (Salem Baptist Church) and Pastor Charles Jenkins, with prayers offered by Rev. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ and Rev. Michael Pfleger. Gospel icons Jennifer Hudson, Hezekiah Walker, and the Winans family provided a musical backdrop that underscored Jackson’s deep roots in the Black Church tradition.
The Final Homegoing
Jackson’s eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., noted that every attendee had a “Jesse Jackson story,” while his son Yusef Jackson shared his father’s unwavering commitment to justice even in his final days of battling Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). “I intend to die with my shoes on,” Yusef recalled his father saying.
Following this public celebration, a private homegoing service will be held Saturday, March 7, at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters, the organization Jackson founded and led for decades. As the nation says goodbye to a “civil rights superhero,” the call from the pulpit was clear: the mission for voting rights and economic justice must continue.
