Former ambassador, Black lawmakers among those in SC to honor Jesse Jackson
As the late Rev. Jesse Jackson was honored and remembered in South Carolina on Monday, notable Black leaders celebrated his life’s work.
Among those to speak were U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, civil rights leader and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, former state Rep. James Felder and current chair of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus Annie McDaniel.
“He left us a legacy. He left us words. He left us the mantra that we are somebody, so that as we work here in South Carolina to rebuild and build a state that resembles what he would like to see, which is a coalition of everyone working together,” McDaniel said.
Much of the legislative Black caucus was in attendance, including state Reps. Chandra Dillard, Jerry Govan, Wendell Gilliard, Wendell Jones, Rosalyn Henderson-Meyers, Michael Rivers, and state Sens. Tameika Isaac Devine and Karl Allen. University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball Coach Dawn Staley also was in attendance.
The more than one-hour long private ceremony with Jackson’s family was held before the public visitation.
Clyburn said if it were not for the work of Jackson, who ran for president in the 1980s, Barack Obama would have never been nominated nor elected president.
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious triumph,” Clyburn said. “Because Jesse Louis Jackson was not a summer soldier. He was not a sunshine patriot ... because of his efforts, I’m able to sit where I sit today. I remember those battles to get rid of winner-take-all elections. Who precipitated that, Jesse Louis Jackson.”
Clyburn also briefly asked Young to speak about Jackson. Young in a motorized wheelchair in a low volume outside the reach of microphones gave remarks in front of Jackson’s comments and later took a photo with the family.
State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter spoke about how Jackson was in the House balcony when lawmakers debated taking down the Confederate flag after the shooting of nine Black churchgoers by a white supremacist.
When Jackson commented about taking down the Confederate flag, Cobb-Hunter recalled he said, “but what about the Confederate agenda.”
“What I would I want all of us to remember is that there is still much work to do. I would challenge each and every one of you to carry on the legacy of Rev. Jackson,” Cobb-Hunter said.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 12:59 PM.
