Born: October 8, 1941, Greenville, SC

Education: NC A & T College, B.A., 1964; Chicago Theological Seminary, 1965–66

Circa the 1980s–90s blacks demanded Democratic Party reforms, including racially diverse primary candidates, campaign staffs, convention delegates, and a transparent presidential nomination. A little known candidate for president had to bypass party operatives and win enough primaries to be the nominee. Jackson attempted that in 1984 and 1988, pursuing “equal opportunity for political office.”

A leader in the civil rights movement and a charismatic figure, he remains both respected and reviled. Many centrist Democrats, seeking suburban and blue-collar white votes, shunned the “liberal” label. Jackson embraced it and its vision of democracy. His campaigns prioritized the plight of ordinary Americans, notably the poor. Keynoting the Democratic National Convention (1988), Jackson rebutted “all these experts on subculture, underclass, I got my life degree in subculture. Looked down on. Rejected. Low expectations. Told you can't make it. I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me.” Invoking human dignity and equality, he appealed to a broad constituency and recruited millions of new voters. Racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, women, gays, and workers were active in his National Rainbow Coalition (1986). He called for education, affirmative action, justice for drug offenders, and statehood for Washington, DC, inclusive if not election-winning issues.