Key moments from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s “People’s Celebration”
Leaders across politics, faith and culture gathered in Chicago to honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, stirring speeches with passionate musical tributes.
Three living former presidents took the stage to pay tribute to Jackson, a striking testament to the extraordinary political influence and moral force he wielded across generations of American leadership.
Here are a few key moments:
• Barack Obama urges Americans to carry Jackson’s legacy forward: Former President Barack Obama traced Jackson’s life from his youth in Greenville, South Carolina, to his national influence. Jackson understood early, Obama said, that “individual success meant nothing unless everybody was free.” Obama credited Jackson’s presidential campaign with reshaping how Democrats select their nominee and opening the door for future candidates. He also delivered a pointed warning about the political moment: “If we don’t step up, no one else will,” urging Americans not to “put your head down and wait for the storm to pass.”
• Kamala Harris recalls Jackson’s barrier-breaking campaign: Former Vice President Kamala Harris drew laughter and applause as she held up two campaign buttons from Jackson’s presidential campaigns. Apologizing to the pastors in the room, she read one aloud: “Damn straight! It’s time for a Black presidential candidate!” Harris praised Jackson’s relentless determination. “Reverend Jackson was impatient,” she said. “He did not waste time waiting … He always devised a way through.”
• Bill Clinton reflects on Jackson’s words and influence: Former President Bill Clinton called Jackson “a true original,” praising the civil rights leader’s powerful oratory. Clinton recalled one line in particular – “You have to open your brains, not your veins” – and said that while they sometimes disagreed, Jackson made him a “better president.”
• Biden calls on Americans to “finish the job”: Former President Joe Biden reflected on the present political climate while honoring Jackson’s legacy. “We’re in a tough time, folks,” Biden said. “We have an administration that doesn’t share the values we have.” Closing with a crescendo, he added: “Jesse kept hope alive for us … Stand up and finish the job!”
• Music brings emotion and celebration: The service featured multiple moments of moving musical tributes. Jennifer Hudson delivered a stunning performance of Sam Cooke’s civil rights anthem, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” while gospel artist Hezekiah Walker lifted the crowd to its feet with “Every Praise.”
• Humor and light: Amid somber memories and poignant remembrances of Jackson’s legacy, speakers also kept the mood light – a fitting testament to Jackson’s warm personality. The ceremony was punctuated with laughter and vibrant performances.
A private ceremony for Jackson will be held Saturday in Chicago. Read CNN’s obituary for Jackson here.
Kamala Harris displays keepsakes from Rev. Jackson's 1988 campaign
CHICAGO – Former Vice President Kamala Harris drew laughter and applause when she held up two mementos from the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, which she watched closely as a student at Howard University.
She apologized to the pastors in the room before reading the message from a campaign button: “Damn straight! It’s time for a Black presidential candidate!”
Former VP Harris praises Rev. Jackson's work to break down barriers
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who sought to become the nation’s first female president, paid tribute Friday to the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s work to break down barriers.
“Reverend Jackson was impatient,” she said. “He did not waste time waiting, even when the doors in front of him were barred and bolted, even if those on the other side hesitated or even ignored him. He always devised a way through.”
Harris received a standing ovation at Jackson's celebration of life
CHICAGO – Former Vice President Kamala Harris received a standing ovation as she took her turn on stage, following Bill Clinton.
“Let me just start out by saying: I predicted a lot of what is happening right now. I hate to say I told you so, but we did see it coming,” she said.
“What I did not predict was that we wouldn’t have Jesse Jackson with us,” she added.
"He made me a better president," Bill Clinton says
CHICAGO – The afternoon crowd is thinning a bit here at the House of Hope as former President Bill Clinton offers his eulogy for the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He said it’s a celebration of life, but also a memorial service, with an overriding challenge: What can we do right now that he may have done?
Clinton praised Jackson as a true original, praising his oratory that cut to the chase on weighty subjects like drugs: “You have to open your brains, not your veins.”
“No matter how long I live, I may not have a single line that good,” Clinton said. “It captures personal responsibility, caring, self-survival.”
“We may not have always agreed,” Clinton added, “but he made me a better president.”
Obama addresses those in high office in remarks at Jackson's service
In his tribute to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former President Barack Obama addressed those now in office – although he steered clear of mentioning President Donald Trump by name.
“Each day, we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law,” he said.
“Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all,” he continued.
Obama implored Americans not “give into cynicism” or the temptation to “compromise with power and grab what you can.”
Jackson, he said, “inspires us to take a harder path,” one of hope and change.
Former President Joe Biden says "history remembers" Rev. Jesse Jackson
CHICAGO – Former President Joe Biden talked wistfully about the Rev. Jesse Jackson, saying, “I knew Jesse, and history remembers him.”
Jackson, of course, far outlasted Biden during the 1988 presidential campaign.
As he showered the late civil rights leader with praise, Biden turned his attention to present day, saying, “We’re in a tough time, folks. We have an administration that doesn’t share the values we have.”
Biden’s voice grew to a crescendo as he closed with this message.
“Jesse kept hope alive for us. We’ve got a commitment to do it in our lifetime for our children,” Biden said. “There’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. So stand up and finish the job!”
"If we don't step up, no one else will," Obama says about current political situation
CHICAGO – As Barack Obama’s speech built toward its conclusion, he declared: “If we don’t step up, no one else will.”
He implored Americans to avoid the temptation to “put your head down and wait for the storm to pass.”
While Obama didn’t mention President Donald Trump by name, his blistering critique made clear to whom he was referring: “Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible.”
Jennifer Hudson delivers soaring rendition of civil rights anthem “A Change Is Gonna Come”
R&B and soul powerhouse Jennifer Hudson commanded the room into a reverent hush as she stepped on stage to deliver “A Change Is Gonna Come,” the iconic 1964 civil rights anthem by the legendary Sam Cooke.
Hudson, who was born and raised in Chicago, stood beneath the lights as the first notes rose from the band — a gentle swell of piano and strings that set a reverent tone. Then her voice entered: deep, rich and full of emotion.
Her vocals climbed and dipped, moving from a tender, almost whispered opening to the full-throated crescendos she’s known for.
When she reached the song’s soaring chorus, her voice rang out to cheers and applause from the crowd, as the familiar words filled the space.
The performance carried both sorrow and hope, the same spirit that made the song a defining soundtrack of the civil rights movement, and felt especially fitting for a celebration honoring the life and legacy of the Rev. Jackson.
"There's no way you're gonna be on time," says NBA Hall of Famer legend Isiah Thomas
NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas jokingly acknowledged that the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s celebration of life ceremony would likely proceed past the scheduled time – a credit to the civil rights leader’s immense legacy.
“I would just like to say to the organizers, when you took on the challenge to bring this man home, you couldn’t understand the vastness and the multitudes that he touched,” he said.
“There’s no way you’re gonna be on time,” he said, to laughs and cheers from the audience. “It ain’t gonna happen.”
James Reynolds Jr., chairman and CEO of Loop Capital, who spoke earlier in the ceremony, was seen glancing at his watch during Thomas’ speech.
Obama praises Jackson's presidential ambitions
CHICAGO – Barack Obama praised the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign for changing the rules for how Democrats selected their presidents, eliminating the winner-take-all system.
Obama said it benefitted candidates like Bill Clinton and Bernie Sanders — and, of course, himself, which he did not say, given that his 2008 rival Hillary Clinton was only feet away.
But Obama praised Jackson in a more robust way than perhaps ever before, saying: “Because of that path that he had laid, because of his courage, his audacity that two decades later a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination.”
Barack Obama tells the story of Rev. Jackson's life
CHICAGO – Former President Barack Obama opened his remarks by telling the story of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s life, beginning as a young man in Greenville, South Carolina. He could have had a successful life with his many talents, Obama said, but “he instinctively understood that individual success meant nothing unless everybody was free.”
Jackson's longtime lawyer and Rainbow PUSH board chair compares him to activism "giants"
Rev. Jesse Jackson “understood the synergy between activism, freedom fighting and the law,” said C.K. Hoffler, who was his lawyer for more than three decades and now chairs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s board of directors.
Barack Obama has taken the stage at Jesse Jackson's celebration of life
CHICAGO – Former President Barack Obama, who has credited the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders for helping pave his path to the presidency, has taken his turn on the dais now. The two men were never particularly close, despite their legacies being forever linked in Chicago and American political history.
As someone in the crowd shouted: “One more term!” Obama replied: “I believe in the Constitution.”
NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas recognizes Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris as "presidents"
CHICAGO – The crowd at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s celebration of life ceremony rose with booming applause as Isiah Thomas said he wanted to recognize the five presidents in the room — he included Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, both of whom were defeated by President Donald Trump.
Thomas, an NBA Hall of Famer who grew up on the West Side of Chicago, went on to praise Jackson for helping rebuild the city after the riots of the Civil Rights era. He praised Jackson as the “Nelson Mandela” of Chicago by instilling hope in young boys like him.
Rev. Jackson “changed the whole thing” for Black leaders on Wall Street, CEO says
James Reynolds Jr., chairman and CEO of Loop Capital, credited the Rev. Jesse Jackson with transforming opportunities for Black professionals in finance, saying many careers, including his own, exist because of Jackson’s pressure on corporate America.
“One of the reasons that I’m standing here and have the business that I have today is because he tackled Wall Street,” Reynolds said during remarks at Friday’s celebration of life. “Many of us (are) here because he tackled Wall Street.”
Reynolds said before Jackson began challenging major institutions, Black professionals, even those with elite credentials, were routinely shut out of major financial work.
“We couldn’t do a bond deal. We couldn’t do a stock deal. We couldn’t do an M&A transaction. We couldn’t do anything,” he said. “And then a man … who had no financial training whatsoever changed the whole thing for Blacks in the financial landscape.”
Reynolds said Jackson confronted companies directly, pressing them on why they excluded Black workers and Black-owned firms.
“He attended those shareholder meetings and raised the issues of why are you corporations boycotting Black people? Why are you boycotting Black financial firms?” Reynolds said.
“He changed the landscape,” Reynolds continued, adding Jackson also pushed another groundbreaking question: “Why aren’t there any Blacks on corporate boards?”
As CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn wrote last month, Jackson staged campaigns against some of America’s biggest companies and Wall Street to increase racial diversity and economic opportunities.
“Money didn’t motivate him, and I know that’s a fact. Helping people did, and that’s just what he was born to do,” Reynolds said.
How Jesse Jackson blazed a trail for Barack Obama
The Rev. Jesse Jackson made history with his bids for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, before losing to the eventual Democratic Party nominees in those campaigns.
Asked in 2020 by a journalist at The Guardian whether it hurt not to achieve the pinnacle of the presidency, Jackson said it did not because he understood he blazed a trail for what would come.
“I was a pathfinder,” Jackson explained. “I had to deal with doubt and cynicism and fears about a Black person running. There were Black scholars writing papers about why I was wasting my time. Even Blacks said a Black couldn’t win.”
In addition to changing Americans’ perceptions of what was possible for Black candidates to achieve, Jackson strong’s showing in the 1988 nomination fight gave him the leverage to push through changes to the Democratic Party’s rules, including altering its “winner-take-all” approach to awarding delegates to candidates.
Instead of the top vote-getter capturing all the delegates in a state, they would be awarded on a proportional basis. The change would prove crucial two decades later for another Black US presidential candidate, Barack Obama, and his successful battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination.
Two of Jackson’s sons are vying for Congress
In a sign of his family’s prominence in Illinois politics, two of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s sons – who are slated to speak at his memorial service today – have served in Congress.
His oldest son – former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. – is seeking a return to the US House this year, thirteen years after pleading guilty in a campaign finance scandal. He’s running in the Democratic primary to represent Illinois’ 2nd congressional district, which includes parts of Chicago’s South Side.
His younger brother, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, has represented Illinois’ 1st congressional district since 2023.
Both are on the ballot in the March 17 Democratic primary.
Speakers keep the mood light at Jackson's celebration of life
Although the reason political luminaries and public figures have gathered today in Chicago is somber, the ceremony has been kept lively – with speakers unafraid to crack jokes.
Teeing up Thomas S. Ricketts, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, preacher James Meeks asked: “Does anybody need to pray for the Cubs?”
James Reynolds Jr., the chairman and CEO of Loop Capital, recounted the late Rev. Jesse Jackson as a close friend.
“You know the country preacher was one of a kind,” he said. “Now, I showed this speech to my wife this morning as I was shaving, and she said, ‘you know you can’t call him a country preacher.’”
“I said, ‘Sandy, he called himself the country preacher!’” Reynolds said, to laughs from the audience.
NBA legend Isiah Thomas reveals “deeply personal” relationship with Rev. Jackson
NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who will be speaking soon, said he will remember the Rev. Jesse Jackson not only as a civil rights leader, but as a “man who showed up for our family with compassion.”
In a post on social media after Rev. Jackson’s death, Thomas revealed over the years, his family developed a “deeply personal” relationship with Jackson because Thomas’s father-in-law served on his Secret Service detail during Jackson’s presidential campaign.
“A bond formed built on trust, shared purpose and respect,” Thomas wrote. “He stood with us in one of our most personal moments, speaking at my mother’s funeral, offering strength, grace, and spiritual grounding when our family needed it most. That is something I will never forget.”
Thomas remembered Jackson as a man whose “voice changed history,” and whose “presence changed lives and mine.”
