Jackson Memorial Fills S.C. State Capitol

By Hamil R. Harris
(TriceEdneyWire.com)

The sweet sounds of Amazing Grace filled the corridors of the South Carolina State Capitol, which was filled with lawmakers, as the flag-draped casket of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson was escorted in front of them.

Born to a single mother in Greenville, S.C. in 1941, Jackson was denied entrance to the State Capitol building. But on Monday, March 2, an honor guard carried his decorated casket into the building for him to receive the honors earned by his life of service.

The service in South Carolina would mark a program of soulful songs,  messages, and dynamic speeches featuring U. S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Ambassador Andrew Young, a crowd of civil rights veterans, and some of the Jackson children who made the 21-hour road trip from Chicago, where he had been viewed by thousands, to Columbia. The final public memorial services were planned for Chicago on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7.

Monday in Columbia, S.C. began with a march in which Jackson’s family walked behind a horse-drawn carriage to the Capitol building. Then a South Carolina state police honor guard carried him up the stairs followed by Jackson’s children.

The long journey took a toll on Jackson’s widow, according to Jesse Jackson Jr., who told those in the Capitol that his brother, U. S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, had driven his mother back to Chicago after she took ill.

“This state stands at the beginning of his story,” his daughter, Santita Jackson, said. “And the experiences in this place to call home to which he returned again and again.”

Santita Jackson also thanked Governor Henry McMaster for allowing her father’s remains to be placed in the Capitol and for lowering the flags to half-mast. She said such gestures have restored her belief, “that there is integrity in the United States.”

Knox White is in his eighth term as mayor of Greenville, S.C., where Jackson was born. White said Jackson once came back to Greenville and seemed like he knew everybody in the meeting. “He was a model of servant leadership.”

Clyburn came from Washington DC to Columbia because when he first ran for Congress, his mother Helen Jackson, sold fried chicken dinners and in high school, Jesse was the quarterback on the team that played his school where he warmed the bench.

“This is a relationship that has spanned generations,” Clyburn said. “His mother helped me to launch my political career.”

Jackson’s memorial service at the Brookland Baptist Church in Columbia drew several thousand. About 25 speakers recalled nearly every aspect of his life. Their remarks were limited to 2 minutes each.

Jesse Jr. concluded, “Jesse Jackson moved the state of South Carolina forward. Dad’s contribution was “psychological … Jesse Jackson’s contribution was to give hope to a people who had given up on hope … Everyone has a star and each one of us has a star that is unique” to us, he said. “Jesse Jackson taught people that I am somebody. I am God’s child. I am from South Carolina.”