Tributes pour in for Jesse Jackson in Chicago: 'The legacy speaks for itself'
Chicagoans mourn Jesse Jackson, remember him as a 'giant'
Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Chicago-based civil rights icon, political trailblazer, and lifelong advocate for equality who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and inspired generations with his call to "never look down on anybody unless you are helping him up," has died at 84.
CHICAGO - Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Chicago-based civil rights icon, political trailblazer, and advocate for equality who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and inspired generations with his call to "never look down on anybody unless you are helping him up," has died at 84.
What we know:
Jackson had been battling the neurodegenerative disorder progressive supranuclear palsy for more than a decade.
His family released a statement which read in part:
"Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world. We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by."
On Tuesday, outside of Jackson's home in the Jackson Park Highlands neighborhood, several people laid down roses, left balloons and prayed as a tribute to the man who inspired them.
"He's an iconic figure, but he's a real man, a normal guy, normal neighbor who would come by the house to have BBQ with me when he wasn't supposed to eat BBQ," said Oliver Speller, Jackson's next-door neighbor.
"Just a great heart, he came to visit us so many times at St. Sabina," said Anita O'Neal.
O'Neal also showed a folded picture of her and Jackson, who she met by chance on a flight to Missouri, when she was a child.
"I just remember smiling because my mother told me to smile," said O'Neal. "As I got older I was like 16 (or) 17 years old I realized exactly who I had met that day and it was an honor and my father actually found this picture and sent it to me last year."
"Just being in the room, his presence and aura was amazing," said Phillip Vasser, who said he was motivated by Jackson to keep fighting for what was right.
"To see a man of color risk his life to say ‘Hey I can be that,’ that was inspiring," said Vasser. "The legacy speaks for itself."
Fox Chicago also caught up with Ja'Mal Green, a one-time candidate for Chicago mayor, who considered Jackson his mentor, friend and political advisor. Green talked about how Jackson impacted his life and why he wanted to work alongside Jackson.
"I want to fight for justice for those kids who were being killed that look like me, being in a community that is fighting against gun violence, fighting against police brutality, those were times he saw me and said, this is a young guy who is someone I want to pour into," said Green.
Fox Chicago asked Green what he felt would be the best way to pay tribute to Jackson.
"Make sure that every young person and every city around this country knows that they are worth more than what they may be today," said Green.
"Whether they're poor, whether they are on welfare, or whether they're in schools that are underfunded, no matter their condition, there's a lot of young people who are homeless, a lot of people who don't have parents, we need all of those young people to know that they are somebody."