When word of Jesse Jackson’s Feb. 17 passing spread through Tulsa, locals remembered him as a leader who showed up and demonstrated how to keep hope alive.
Many recalled Jackson’s visit to Tulsa in 2021 — along with President Joe Biden and others — during the centennial commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
While Biden only stayed for a few hours, Jackson spent several days in town. Even though his health was frail, causing a slower gait and speech, he made several public appearances.
Jackson joined former Vernon AME pastor Robert Turner in front of City Hall to lead a protest for reparations for race massacre descendants. Later, he toured Greenwood, stopping to read the plaques that marked the events.
Selfies, autographs and prayer
A gathering of local and visiting faith leaders, hosted at the Jazz Hall of Fame in downtown Tulsa, was the high point of the visit. Jackson, the late bishop Carlton Pearson, All Souls pastor Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, bishop William J. Barber II and other church leaders took to the podium to call out the spiritual importance of using the legacy of the massacre to build a better Tulsa.
Jackson voiced support for the rights of underserved people and echoed his cry for everyone to keep hope alive.
There and everywhere Jackson stopped, locals flocked to him. Some posed with him for selfies, others asked for autographs and some even requested prayers. Jackson happily complied with every request.
“His presence was electrifying,” recalls C.J. Webber-Neal. “I feel it still, as if he were just in town yesterday.”
Webber-Neal, founder of the Oklahoma City-based Neal Center For Justice, helped arrange Jackson’s itinerary during the visit. Jackson continued to mentor Webber-Neal over the past few years.
“What stays with me was his clear message that in order to succeed, we have to focus on organizing, mobilizing and strategizing,” he told The Oklahoma Eagle.
Continuing Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission
James Goodwin, longtime publisher of The Eagle, was also inspired by Jackson’s leadership. He met with Jackson at The Eagle’s office during the 2021 visit. Goodwin also supported Jackson in his 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns.
Goodwin underlined the important role Jackson played in keeping the legacy and mission of Martin Luther King Jr. alive through nonviolent protest. In this city strongly rooted in faith, Jackson’s spiritual leadership also resonated.
He will be remembered, particularly in Black and underserved communities, for his message that the humanity of underrepresented people should be respected, Goodwin said.
Goodwin also stressed that Jackson’s example of facing challenges with optimism was important for Tulsans as they grappled with the long shadow of the race massacre.
Bobby Eaton Jr., owner of north Tulsa-based KBOB radio, was also inspired by Jackson’s visit.
During an interview with Eaton, Jackson spoke about how he stood on the backs of other civil rights leaders.
“He made clear that whatever struggles we are facing, the ancestors are fighting with us,” Eaton said.
Messenger of healing
Rev. Anthony Scott, pastor of First Baptist Church in north Tulsa, first experienced Jackson’s influence up close in 2012.
Following the murder of three Black north Tulsans on Good Friday, Jackson came to Tulsa to help the northside community grapple with the tragedy. He worked together with Scott to lead a prayer vigil on the Saturday following the event and led a service at First Baptist.
“Jackson was true to his calling as an ambassador of hope,” Scott recalls. “He reminded us to lean into our faith and humanity and gave us the calm we needed to get through all of that.”
During a 2014 visit, Jackson held a meeting for students at Central High School. His warm and personal approach to spiritual and community leadership has stayed with Scott. A portrait of him and Jackson hangs in his church office.
Ray Pearcey also admired Jackson’s leadership and impact for five decades. When Pearcey was a young student leader at the University of Tulsa in 1972, he invited Jackson to speak on campus.
Jackson’s push for social justice and economic independence for people of color was considered controversial at the time. Pearcey recalls a columnist at the Tulsa Tribune, the city’s leading daily at the time, complaining that Jackson’s visit was an inappropriate use of TU funds.
But the civil rights leader’s speech, before a packed Great Hall on campus, was very well received, according to Pearcey.
“He had this way of getting people — everyone — to believe in themselves and their humanity,” Pearcey recalled. “It was very powerful and motivating for everyone, regardless of color or background.”
“He was the first African American I had met who held national prominence,” Pearcey added. “As a student with ambitions to have an impact in the world, he was a major inspiration. And he still is.”
Gary Lee is executive editor of the Tulsa Flyer and The Oklahoma Eagle.
