Obama honors Jesse Jackson at Chicago funeral, warns of ‘assault’ on democratic institutions
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to the Rev Jesse Jackson during the civil rights leader’s funeral in Chicago, praising him as a tireless champion for the poor and marginalized.
Speaking to mourners at a public memorial held at the House of Hope, Obama said Jackson repeatedly stepped forward in moments when the country needed leadership and healing.
“It is an honor to join you today to celebrate the Rev Jesse Louis Jackson, a man who, when the poor and the dispossessed needed a champion and a country needed healing, stepped forward again and again and again,” Obama said.
The former president was greeted with cheers from attendees before beginning his remarks with a reading from the Book of Isaiah.
Sharp criticism of the current political climate
Obama also used his remarks to warn about what he described as troubling developments in American politics, saying the country was living through a difficult moment. “We are living in a time that’s hard to hope,” he said.
“Every day you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible,” Obama continued, adding that Americans were witnessing repeated attacks on democratic norms.
“Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law. An offense to common decency,” he continued.
Without mentioning him directly at first, Obama criticized the political environment shaped during the presidency of Donald Trump.
“Each day we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all,” he said.
Obama added that greed, bigotry and bullying were increasingly being celebrated while “science and expertise” were being undermined.
“Every single day we see ignorance and dishonesty and cruelty and corruption reaping untold rewards,” he said.
Jesse Jackson's example as a source of hope
Despite the bleak assessment, Obama urged Americans not to give in to cynicism, pointing to Jackson’s lifelong activism as an example of how hope and change were possible.
While it might be tempting to become discouraged, he said Jackson’s life showed the importance of continuing to push for progress and serve as “messengers of hope” and “messengers of change.”
Personal reflection on Jesse Jackson’s influence
Obama also recalled watching Jackson’s first presidential campaign as a young man and being deeply inspired by his performance in a televised debate. “Jesse hadn’t just held his own. He had owned that stage,” Obama said.
He said the moment left a lasting impression on him as a 22-year-old outsider with a “funny name,” suggesting that Jackson helped show that people from all backgrounds belonged at the highest levels of American politics.
Jackson, Obama said, spoke not only to Black Americans but to a broad coalition that included white voters, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, farmers, environmentalists and working-class communities.
“He spoke to gay rights activists when nobody was talking to gay rights activists,” Obama said, adding that Jackson delivered the same message to every group: “That they mattered, that their voices and their votes counted.”
Leaders gather in Chicago for memorial
The funeral drew a large gathering of political leaders and public figures. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden also attended the service.
JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, told mourners that Jackson’s legacy was deeply tied to the city he called home.
“Reverend Jackson belonged to Chicago and Chicago belonged to him,” Pritzker said. “He was ours, and we were his.”
