Wednesday Open Thread: The Passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson

For today's in memorium, we turn to you all, the EB community.

With the news yesterday of the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson, there were several comments about the man's legacy. Some positive. Some negative. Some a mix of both. There is no wrong way to feel whenever someone passes; what helps is that we find a place where we can express our feelings free of judgment. 

For us millennials, we were too young to have experienced Jackson's two presidential runs. We did, however, hear of his affair in the early 2000s. But we also saw him in tears the night of Barack Obama's first election win. We saw him stand on the side of justice time and time again for the Black community. And we saw him inexplicably endorse Bernie Sanders in 2020. 

Nobody could ever have filled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s shoes. Jackson did an awful lot of good during his time here on Earth. His good deeds outweigh the bad. Yet the man clearly had blind spots. His antisemitism chief among them. He was staunchly pro-life before his first presidential run. Jackson was a complex man living during a complex time in American history. But it was that complexity that drew others toward him. Every single Democratic nominee for president this century has sought his endorsement, making him second only to Congressman James Clyburn in terms of being a critical gatekeeper for the Black vote and the Black community. In his later years, Jackson was a central figure in demanding justice for Trayvon Martin, Marissa Alexander, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, among others. He and Reverend Al Sharpton continued to fight for justice for the Black community throughout their lives. Imperfect as he was, nobody could doubt Rev. Jackson's lifelong commitment to the betterment of his fellow Black sisters and brothers. 

But now, let's hear from our community. How did you all view Reverend Jackson? Did the positive outweigh the negative? Or were there certain negative aspects of him and his life that were simply too much for you to overcome? I will absolutely admit that my experience with him exists in a bubble, largely consisting of television appearances over the past two decades. What were folks' experiences with him beyond this medium? Did anyone see the man speak in public? What part of Reverend Jackson's story is the media missing as these initial tributes come in? What is Reverend Jesse Jackson's true legacy? 

This is your Rest In Power: Reverend Jesse Jackson open thread.