Obama delivers rousing eulogy for Rev. Jesse Jackson, rebukes political climate under Trump

“What a great debt we owe to him,” said America’s first Black president, who acknowledged how the civil rights leader paved the way for his historic presidency.

President Barack Obama delivered a rousing eulogy for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, praising the civil rights leader for paving the way for his historic presidency, while also rebuking the political climate under President Donald Trump.

“Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson inspires us to take a harder path. His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope, to step forward and say, ‘Send me.’ Wherever we have a chance to make an impact,” said Obama at Jackson’s funeral service on Friday, held at House of Hope Baptist Church in Chicago.

America’s first Black president continued, “Whether it’s in our school or our workplaces or our neighborhoods or our cities, not for fame, not for glory, or because success is guaranteed, but because it gives our life purpose, because it aligns with what our faith tells us God demands.”

Acknowledging Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns and how they laid the groundwork for his victorious path to the White House in 2008, the 44th president of the United States said Jackson “paved the road for so many others to follow.”

“Doug Wilder became the first elected Black governor. Carol Moseley Braun went to the U.S Senate because of Jesse. The Democratic Party changed its rules, ending the winner-take-all distribution of delegates during presidential primaries, which meant underdogs and outsiders like Bill Clinton or Bernie Sanders could stay competitive and build momentum instead of getting knocked out early,” explained Obama. “And it was because of that path that he had laid, because of his courage, his audacity, that two decades later, a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination.”

Obama also used his remarks to condemn the Trump administration and urged Americans to lean into Jackson’s lifelong message of hope to navigate what he called a “time when it can be hard to hope.”

“Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day, you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible,” said the former president. “Each day, we’re told by those in higher office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all.”

He added, “Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength, we see science and expertise denigrated while ignorance and dishonesty and cruelty and corruption are reaping untold rewards. Every single day we see that, and it’s hard to hope in those moments.”

The Chicago transplant and Hawaii native said that while it may be “tempting to get discouraged,” “give into cynicism,” or “compromise with power and grab what you can,” Jackson’s legacy calls others to take a different path.

“Because if we don’t step up, no one else will,” said Obama, adding, “How fortunate we were that Jesse Jackson answered that call. What a great debt we owe to him.”