Honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson's Legacy

We honor the legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson, who dedicated his life to combating hunger, poverty, and inequality.

His loss is felt across the world, and here at the Food Bank. Jackson championed hunger relief programs as the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. For four decades, this economic empowerment organization provided Thanksgiving meals for thousands of families in the Chicago area. Jackson's final mandate was to end malnutrition in Chicago and beyond. This is what he told his son, Yusef Jackson, from a hospital bed in November 2025:

He's very concerned about malnutrition, hunger, and food insecurity... He's asked us to put together a program that will serve four million people — for 2,000 churches to commit to distributing 2,000 bags of groceries.

– Yusef Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, recalling his father's instructions from his hospital bed

Reverend Jesse Jackson was a tireless advocate for SNAP grocery support — and supported faith-based hunger relief across the country. 

Jackson made anti-hunger advocacy the cornerstone of his work. He deeply understood the root causes of hunger and how economic disparities form across race, gender, and sexual orientation. In 1988, Jackson addressed the intersection of hunger and the gender wage gap: 

Women are making 60 cents on the dollar to what a man makes. Women cannot buy meat cheaper. Women cannot buy bread cheaper. Women cannot buy milk cheaper. Women deserve to get paid for the work that you do. It's right and it's fair. 

– Rev. Jesse Jackson

Jackson's commitment to service is rooted in the civil rights movement and  Black church traditions. Jackson stood by Dr. Martin Luther King to advance the Poor People's Campaign for dignity and economic justice. After Dr. King's assassination in 1968, Jackson continued the legacy of his mentor's campaign by calling for an end to job discrimination through targeted boycotts. Jackson helped usher in a new wave of economic advancement by pressuring major corporations to hire Black employees and implement policies that promote racial justice. 

Though Jackson found significant success and became a larger-than-life figure to many, he never lost sight of his roots in economically disadvantaged communities. Reverend Jackson fought tirelessly to uplift the self-esteem of historically oppressed communities through his popular call-and-response chant, "I Am Somebody." And now, through viral social media posts, a new generation is discovering the urgency of Jackson's message that everyone should live with dignity — a belief we share deeply here at the Food Bank.

America must never surrender to malnutrition. We can feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We must never surrender. We must go forward.

– Rev. Jesse Jackson