I was sad to hear about the death of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. 

As a young assistant communications director at the interracial Chicago Urban League in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I had the privilege to serve as a liaison on several occasions between the Urban League and a coalition of Black and Hispanic organizations, including Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity). 

Rev. Jackson was a compelling speaker with a passionate delivery, which brought him both praise and criticism. But his accomplishments through the years — for African Americans, other minorities and the downtrodden — are evident to this day. 

“I am somebody” — that’s the message he urged all marginalized people to think about themselves as they went forward. His words still ring true.

Stuart Greene
Auburn