I Still remember buying that Jackson in ‘88 pin at the LBJ library when I was a freshman at Gainesville and we were at UT for state uil.

This is crazy man!

So this is our third.

My first presidential primary vote was for Jackson in 1988

Edited February 17Feb 17 by Gourmand

2 minutes ago, Nivek said:

So this is our third.

I'm going to say this is our second after Robert Duvall

36 minutes ago, Pancho said:

I Still remember buying that Jackson in ‘88 pin at the LBJ library when I was a freshman at Gainesville and we were at UT for state uil.

This is crazy man!

I remember attending a rally on the West Mall for Jesse Jackson that primary season.

He came to my high school to give a speech and our a-hole Physics teacher wouldn't let us go see him. The man walked with MLK. He was there on April 4th. We had that SNL show on tape and would watch it constantly. The question is moot. RIP.

For someone who never had a chance to win the Presidency, Jackson was a giant in politics.

2 minutes ago, mdmost said:

He came to my high school to give a speech and our a-hole Physics teacher wouldn't let us go see him. The man walked with MLK. He was there on April 4th. We had that SNL show on tape and would watch it constantly. The question is moot. RIP.

wtf that's outrageous

Voted for him in our 4th grade mock election. Best friends were black and fuck Ronald Reagan was my entire voting calculations at the time.

• 
• Ben Phillips @benphillips76

I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is

• 11:02 AM · Feb 17, 2026

NPR this morning played his rally call from the regular Rainbow PUSH Coalition meetings. "I am . . . [I am] . . . somebody . . . [somebody]!"

I was on a regional jet with him on a flight from Detroit several years ago. He walked down the aisle and greeted every African American in the plane.

Any other GenX UT grads remember that appearance Jesse Jackson made before Super Tuesday 1988? As I recall he showed up briefly to speak in front of a packed West Mall and students were practically climbing trees and light poles to get a better view.

Video quality is terrible, but the second I told my wife the Rev had died, she was like “aw, Hymietown.”

17 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

Any other GenX UT grads remember that appearance Jesse Jackson made before Super Tuesday 1988? As I recall he showed up briefly to speak in front of a packed West Mall and students were practically climbing trees and light poles to get a better view.

I was there with you, hermano. I related this story on the DT thread:

Saw Jesse give a presidential campaign speech on the West Mall in '88. I was actually going to return a library book at the UGL, and got annoyed as I had to elbow through a crowd to get there. Then I heard a speaker begin, and looked to my right, and there was Jesse, maybe 10 feet away, starting his speech. I thought to myself "dude is running for president, you oughta stick around and listen."

Man, by the end of what was probably a 20 minute speech, I was all "RUN JESSE RUN!" He was maybe the most gifted orator I'd ever heard. As the rush of his speech wore off, I remember thinking "wait....I disagreed with much of what he was saying," which impressed on me even more the power of a great speaker. I didn't agree with much of his platform, but immediately after his speech, I'd have run through a wall for him.

18 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I was there with you, hermano. I related this story on the DT thread:

Saw Jesse give a presidential campaign speech on the West Mall in '88. I was actually going to return a library book at the UGL, and got annoyed as I had to elbow through a crowd to get there. Then I heard a speaker begin, and looked to my right, and there was Jesse, maybe 10 feet away, starting his speech. I thought to myself "dude is running for president, you oughta stick around and listen."

Man, by the end of what was probably a 20 minute speech, I was all "RUN JESSE RUN!" He was maybe the most gifted orator I'd ever heard. As the rush of his speech wore off, I remember thinking "wait....I disagreed with much of what he was saying," which impressed on me even more the power of a great speaker. I didn't agree with much of his platform, but immediately after his speech, I'd have run through a wall for him.

Thanks for confirming. I have a distinct memory of seeing him on the West Mall amid chants of Keep Hope Alive and fighting for a spot to see him. It was so packed but couldn't remember the exact context but it had to have been 1988, my freshman year. Looking back now at what he campaigned on and where we are today, how far we've regressed in the state under GOP rule, I'm proud to say that he was my first vote for a presidential candidate.

Hadn't kept up ole JJ, but it appears he struggled with some serious neuropathy and neurological disease the last years of his life with parkinson's and some advanced palsy disease among others. Rest In Peace.

• 
• Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social

I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is

• 11:41 AM · Feb 17, 2026

Couldn't get this to embed... One of my favorite SNL skits, and what I always think of when I heard Rev. Jackson's name.

Edited February 17Feb 17 by NWBuck

I moved into my moderately conservative mostly white Lake Highlands neighborhood back in 1990, and as we were moving in, I saw my wife chatting with a gaggle of new neighbors.

I want out to say hello to all of them, and that went fine, but when we got back int the house my wife was a bit perturbed at me because I was wearing a faded "Keep Hope Alive" t-shirt with JJ grinning like a down with the flava Cheshire Cat on the front.

Wife likes to keep the politics on the down-ow.

8 hours ago, Gourmand said:

I remember attending a rally on the West Mall for Jesse Jackson that primary season.

i too was there - right next to the apartheid fort or whatever it was

I’m of the generation where my most prominent memory of Jesse Jackson was when he was caught on a hot mic saying he wanted to cut Obama’s nuts out for talking down to black people.

5 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

i too was there - right next to the apartheid fort or whatever it was

The shanty that kept getting vandalized and built back better?

John Lewis passing in 2020 was big. Jesse Jackson going now is also a tremendous loss. They were men, not perfect, but they were men that fought for a better America and world as well. They championed for those who had no voice. They fought for civil rights for African-Americans and never backed down.

Jesse Jackson walked the walk most of the time and did so while taking on people who hated him because of his skin color. That’s admirable how he persevered. Now as a country we need the next generation of young black men and women to step into leadership roles across the country. Rest in peace to Rev. Jackson. He earned it and then some.