{"id":35223,"date":"2026-02-17T20:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/?p=35223"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:06:20","slug":"jesse-jackson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/?p=35223","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Jackson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Reverend Jesse Jackson has died<\/a>. He was 84.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, I do not have any great opinions or thoughts on the man, which may be a fault of my age. He ran for president in 1988, when I was in high school, and he kinda faded away after that. Or, rather, faded from my perception. I hate to admit this, but if you’d asked me last week I’d have told you I thought he’d already died, maybe four, five years back. I’d have thought that, probably because he was announced as having Parkinson’s about that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mom voted for him. To the end of her days, she would tell people she proudly voted for Jackson in the 1988 West Virginia Democratic primary. It was truly a badge of honor with her. There weren’t many votes that she discussed — Reagan instead of John Anderson in 1980 was the other one she would talk about — and that primary vote for Jackson was the Big One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would have known him for this on Sesame Street<\/i>, though I have no memory of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A simple message with big meaning: "I am somebody." We are grateful to Rev. Jesse Jackson for helping teach generations of children to believe in themselves and in one another. Thank you for being part of our neighborhood. \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a pic.twitter.com\/a7vWqUGOsh<\/a><\/p>— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>