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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION OF THE COOK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CONGRATULATING REVEREND JESSE L. JACKSON, SR. ON THE CELEBRATION OF HIS 74th BIRTHDAY
WHEREAS, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in 1964. Reverend Jackson was ordained into the ministry on June 30, 1968 by Reverend Clay Evans and received his Master’s Degree in Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963. They have five children: Santita Jackson, Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Esq., and Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson served as a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was eventually appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to direct the Operation Breadbasket program. In December of 1971, Reverend Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago, IL. In 1984, Reverend Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization based in Washington, D.C. devoted to political empowerment, education, and changing public policy. In September of 1996, the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to continue the work of both organizations and to maximize resources; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson’s 1984 presidential campaign registered over one million new voters, won 3.5 million votes, and helped the Democratic Party regain control of the Senate in 1986; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign registered over two million new voters, won seven million votes, and helped boost hundreds of state and local elected officials into office, while inspiring millions to join the American political process; and
WHEREAS, in 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Reverend Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2009, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown bestowed the Global Diversity and Inclusion Award on Reverend Jackson at 10 Downing Street.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners that Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is to be congratulated on the achievement of his 74th birthday, and that the sincere appreciation of the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners is to be extended to Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. for his service to his vocation, his people, his country and the world.end