Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born Jesse Louis Burns; October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He is the founder of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is his eldest son. Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina to Helen Burns, a 16-year-old high school student, and her 33-year-old married neighbor, Noah Louis Robinson, a former professional boxer who was an employee of a textile brokerage and a well-known figure in the black community. One year after Jesse's birth, his mother married Charles Henry Jackson, a post office maintenance worker who would later adopt Jesse Jesse went on to take the surname of his stepfather, but also maintained a close relationship with Robinson over the years, and considered both men to be his father. As a young child, Jackson was taunted by the other children regarding his out-of-wedlock birth, and has said these experiences helped motivate him to succeed. Living under Jim Crow segregation laws,
Jesse Jackson has come to the defense of LeBron James -- even though no one asked him to -- and compared Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to a "slave master."In a harshly-worded statement,… READ MORE >
Reverend Jesse Jackson claims Mel Gibson's racist rant reveals he has a "fundamental character flaw" ... and says the actor truly "needs help."TMZ just spoke to Rev. Jackson, who said, "Mel… READ MORE >
Not only did Chaka Khan skip a meet and greet with recent co-Grammy winners Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder last night in Washington -- only to have a date with the Marlboro Man, she also dissed… READ MORE >
