Jacqueline Lavinia "Jackie" Jackson (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Davis, later Brown, born March 7, 1944) is an American author and peace activist. She wrote ''Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray'', a compilation of letters she had sent to her son
Jesse Jackson Jr. while the latter was incarcerated. Married to
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...
since 1962, she has been described by ''
The Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...
'' as "elusive, private and largely unknown to the public."
Early life
Jackson was born Jacqueline Lavinia Davis on March 7, 1944
in Fort Pierce, Florida, to Gertrude "Gertie" Davis (March 7, 1927 – July 13, 2017), an "unwed migrant worker who earned 15 cents an hour picking beans."
Jackson never saw her father.
Her mother married Navy Chief Petty Officer Julius Frances Brown Sr. when Jackson was five, and the family relocated to Newport News, Virginia.
In an interview Jackson stated she believed her mother to be "too strict" when she was a child.
She considered becoming a nun when she was a teenager, but eventually decided not to pursue that path.
She has four half-siblings through her mother.
According to biographer
Marshall Frady's book ''Jesse'', Jackson's maternal grandmother was a prostitute.
Jackson attended
Huntington High School in West Virginia before entering
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public university, public, Historically black colleges and universities, historicall ...
, then known as the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina.
While a student at A&T, she was a civil rights protester.
In an interview with the
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...
, she recounted writing a persuasive paper on how China should get a seat in the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.
Jackson ended up dropping out of A&T when her first child,
Santita, was born.
Career
Author
In 2013, Jackson's son
Jesse Jr. pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign laws and was incarcerated for 30 months. While her son was in prison, Jackson wrote him a letter every day.
After Jesse Jr. was released, Jackson compiled the letters she had sent to him in a book ''Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray'',
which was published by
Skyhorse Publishing
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont.
History
The current president and publisher is founder Tony Ly ...
.
To promote the book, Jackson and Jesse Jr. appeared on ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...
''
and
WGN (AM)
WGN (720 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a talk radio format. WGN's studios are in the Chicago Loop, while the transmitter is in Elk Grove Village. WGN also features broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hoc ...
.
''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
'' wrote, "They used their media appearances to discuss criminal justice reform, the moral failures of the penal system and how best to assimilate ex-convicts, especially those who are not former members of Congress, into roles of productive citizenship."
Peace activism
In 1979, Jackson traveled with activist
Jack O'Dell to Beirut to speak to Palestinian leaders, including
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
.
Writing for ''
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
'' in 1984, journalist
Hans Massaquoi
Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi (January 19, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was a German-American journalist and author. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a German mother and a Liberian father of Vai ethnicity, the grandson of Momulu Massaquoi, the cons ...
stated Jackson was "an eloquent spokesperson for oppressed minorities, including Black women."
In 1985, Jackson led a delegation of 10 women to Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia for relief efforts during droughts across those countries.
In 2001, Jackson was arrested at
Camp Garcia Vieques in
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, Culebra barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin ...
with nine other activists for misdemeanor trespassing while protesting the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's bombing tests in the area. She was ordered to comply with a strip search and body cavity search; while she lifted her breasts and undressed, she would not comply with the body cavity search. Because of the incident, she was placed in solitary confinement.
She was held in jail in San Juan for 10 days, refusing to post the $3000 bail.
During the stint in jail, she rejected several meals.
Jesse came to meet her when she was released.
She stated, "This has been a very humiliating experience and dehumanizing experience for me."
She received the Peace & Justice Award from
Rainbow/PUSH
Rainbow/PUSH is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization formed as a merger of two nonprofit organizations founded by Jesse Jackson; Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition. The organizations pursue socia ...
for her efforts during the protest.
Jackson was the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina A&T State University in May 2021 "for a lifetime of dedicated service".
Politics
During her husband Jesse's
run for the US presidential nomination on the Democratic ticket in 1984, she spoke at a fundraiser at
Howard University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
, where she stated, "Any woman who cannot vote for Jesse Jackson betrays her own cause."
During Jesse's run, Jackson insisted the campaign not answer questions about their personal lives.
She was criticized for wearing designer attire and for her "extravagant taste in fashion", wearing dresses by Cuban designer
Adolfo, American designer
Bill Blass
William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999).
Ear ...
, and Greek designer
James Galanos
James Galanos (; September 20, 1924 – October 30, 2016) was an American fashion designer and couturier. Galanos is known for designing clothing for America's social elite, including Nancy Reagan, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and others.
...
.
During the
United States presidential election of 2008
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior list of United States senators from Illinois, ...
, Jackson supported
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
as the nominee over
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. Discussing politics on
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, she said:
Personal life
Jackson met Jesse during her freshman year at A&T College.
On December 31, 1962, in her sophomore year, the 18-year-old Jackson married Jesse at his parents' home.
Together they have five children:
Santita (1963),
Jesse Jr. (1965),
Jonathan Luther (1966), Yusef DuBois (1970), and Jacqueline Lavinia (1975).
According to a 1987 article in the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', Jackson "held the majority of the family's assets in her name", including stock worth above $250,000 in the
Inner City Broadcasting Corporation
The Inner City Broadcasting Corporation ("ICBC") was an American media company based in New York City. It was one of the first broadcasting companies wholly owned by African-Americans.
History
Inner City was founded in 1970 by a group of prominen ...
, an owner of radio stations. She also owned a home with Jesse on the
South Side of Chicago worth $100,000. At that time, the family's assets were approximately between $397,000 and $600,000.
In August 2021, Jackson and her husband were hospitalized with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
She had not been vaccinated.
On August 27, she was in the
intensive care unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine.
An inten ...
at
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University's Campus of Northwestern University, Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Nort ...
while her husband was transferred to a
rehabilitation facility. On September 4, she returned home. After recovering from COVID-19 she publicly stated than everyone should be getting vaccinated and following CDC guidelines.
Bibliography
*Jackson, Jaqueline ''Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray'' (2019)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia
1944 births
Living people
African-American activists
North Carolina A&T State University alumni
21st-century African-American people
Huntington High School (West Virginia) alumni
Family of Jesse Jackson