Jesse Jackson Jr. Criticizes Former Democratic Presidents After Memorial Service

Jesse Jackson Jr. criticized former Democratic presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton for their tributes at his father’s memorial service, saying they "do not know" the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

“- Today - Holidays - Birthdays - Reminders - Cities - Atlanta - Austin - Baltimore - Berwyn - Beverly Hills - Birmingham - Boston - Brooklyn - Buffalo - Charlotte - Chicago - Cincinnati - Cleveland - Columbus - Dallas - Denver - Detroit - Fort Worth - Houston - Indianapolis - Knoxville - Las Vegas - Los Angeles - Louisville - Madison - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Minneapolis - Nashville - New Orleans - New York - Omaha - Orlando - Philadelphia - Phoenix - Pittsburgh - Portland - Raleigh - Richmond - Rutherford - Sacramento - Salt Lake City - San Antonio - San Diego - San Francisco - San Jose - Seattle - Tampa - Tucson - Washington Jesse Jackson Jr”

National Today

At the final memorial held Saturday at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago, Jackson Jr. said the presidents who spoke at the larger memorial on Friday lacked a true understanding of his father’s life and work.

National Today

He told attendees, "Yesterday, I listened for several hours of three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson."

Jackson Jr. said his father "maintained a tense relationship with the political order" because his message "demanded not Democratic or Republican solutions, but demanded a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time sold us out as a people."

He framed Rev. Jackson’s work as speaking for "the least of these—those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected."

National Today

The article notes Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. died last month at the age of 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder.

The piece frames Jackson Jr.'s remarks as underscoring a complex and sometimes tense relationship between the Jackson family and the Democratic political establishment.

“- Today - Holidays - Birthdays - Reminders - Cities - Atlanta - Austin - Baltimore - Berwyn - Beverly Hills - Birmingham - Boston - Brooklyn - Buffalo - Charlotte - Chicago - Cincinnati - Cleveland - Columbus - Dallas - Denver - Detroit - Fort Worth - Houston - Indianapolis - Knoxville - Las Vegas - Los Angeles - Louisville - Madison - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Minneapolis - Nashville - New Orleans - New York - Omaha - Orlando - Philadelphia - Phoenix - Pittsburgh - Portland - Raleigh - Richmond - Rutherford - Sacramento - Salt Lake City - San Antonio - San Diego - San Francisco - San Jose - Seattle - Tampa - Tucson - Washington Jesse Jackson Jr”

National Today

It also notes Jesse Jackson Jr. is the eldest son of Rev. Jackson.

It says he is a former congressman who is seeking to win back his former congressional seat in the upcoming midterm elections this fall.