Photograph by Lorenze Davis
Atlanta has deep ties to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Not only was he a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but in 1988, he delivered arguably one of the most well-known speeches of his presidential campaign during the Democratic National Convention at downtown Atlanta’s Omni hotel. Andrew Young, Atlanta’s mayor at the time, had worked in King’s inner circle. In that speech, Jackson shared his vision for the nation if he should become president, but he also detailed his tough Greenville, South Carolina upbringing. “You see me on TV, but you don’t know the me that makes me, me,” he said.
Many of those gathered at The Gathering Spot on Tuesday for the Black History Month program When HIStory Was Watching: A Fireside Chat with Ambassador Andrew Young and Torchbearers of the Civil Rights Legacy, mere hours after news of Jackson’s death broke, either knew him well or were inspired by him.
“My heart is heavy for the loss of a civil rights icon, freedom fighter, and a good personal friend,” said former Georgia NAACP president Gerald A. Griggs. “I’m just thankful that he always taught us to keep hope alive, to recognize the political power to register voters, to be one of the first to lift their hand to fight for the least of these. So my heart is heavy, but I know he’s in a better place.”
Jackson’s passing made celebrating former UN Ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young even more imperative for Griggs and others. “It made me more energized to continue to pay homage to those who came before us, but also to remember that we have not gotten to the Promised Land; we are in the process of getting there. So I wanted to hear from our dear brother Ambassador Young about how we continue this road that he and so many others were on and now have introduced us to be on,” said Griggs.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson was an icon. He was someone who was more than just groundbreaking. When I look at his runs for president, breaking that ceiling and showing that it was possible for Black men to run for the highest elected office plus everything else that he did, this is a sad day,” reflected Ryan Wilson, co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot.
Having Young present was also special to Wilson, who moderated the intimate and timely conversation that looked at how the Civil Rights Movement was documented and how archives are kept now. Building on his earlier statement, Wilson said: “We’re in a true moment where not only do we need to honor their legacy, but the things that they talked about throughout the entirety of their lives are more pressing than ever.”
Photograph by Lorenze Davis
“I believe that Jesse Jackson is one of the great freedom fighters of the 20th century,” shared former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who presided over the 1996 Olympics that Young spearheaded. “His advocacy on behalf of poor people, people of color, women, those who are in poverty I think highlighted a remarkable dedication to equity. He started poor and he never forgot the roots that gave him a sense of how important it was to overcome poverty, and through his entire career he always kept that at the forefront.”
The event began with a rendition of the Black National Anthem by Heiress Harris, the daughter of rapper T.I. and Xscape singer Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris. On stage with Rosalind Withers, the daughter of premier civil rights photographer Ernest Withers and founder of the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, who sponsored the event along with the Atlanta-based The Legacy Line, Young reflected on historic photographs and shared anecdotes about prominent Atlanta civil rights leaders including John Lewis and Rev. C.T. Vivian, as well as some of his experiences working in the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. King.
Just before the walk through history featuring some of Withers’ 1.8 million photos, Young recalled that he was last at The Gathering Spot for an event with 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris and spoke of the missed opportunity to elect her. “This is not a study of the past,” the civil rights icon said of the program featuring Withers’ photos.
“I still remember and cherish many of those moments because it reminds us of how far we’ve come,” he continued. “But it should also remind us that we can go even further if we have the same vitality, energy and vision that you see in these photos. So we’re not studying the past, we’re creating the future.”
Reena Evers-Everette, daughter of assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers, also shared the stage with them, as King Library & Archives assistant archivist Malikah Berry, Eric D. Tidwell, who serves as licensing manager to the King Estate, and Laron Walker, co-founder and CEO of The Legacy Line, which uses technology to bring historic images to life. Collectively they spoke of preserving and controlling Black history, as well as family legacies.
Privately, Young, who turns 94 on next month, shared some of his thoughts on Jackson’s passing at the age of 84. Young fondly recalled first meeting Jackson, who was then just a year out of college. “I met him in 1965. He came up to me one night after a demonstration was over, saw that I was tired and said, Look, if you need to go get some rest, let me hold this watch for a while, and it’s been that way since 1965.” That was in Selma on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Selma to Montgomery March that resulted in the introduction and passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“I almost don’t believe in death,” Young said, comparing Jackson’s passing with his experience of losing Dr. King. “It’s been years since I saw Martin Luther King shot, but there hasn’t been a day in the last 50 years that I haven’t felt that we’re close.”
