Who will be the next great civil rights leader?
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
Last month, the world lost a titan in the struggle for civil rights: the Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. His style of leadership is deeply familiar: masculine, charismatic, and inspiring. But is that archetype of the modern Moses-style social justice leader still as salient as it once was? And if not, what would does that mean for civil rights organizing moving forward? We're getting into why it all starts with you and your communities.
Brittany is joined by Dr. Marcus Lee, assistant professor of African American studies at Princeton University, and Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, the chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, to find out.
Interested in more conversations about civil rights and protest? Check out these episodes:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This message comes from stars. |
| 0:02.8 | The global phenomenon Outlander returns for its final farewell. |
| 0:06.7 | Claire and Jamie's story comes to an unforgettable end. |
| 0:10.0 | Don't miss the final season of Outlander. |
| 0:12.2 | Watch now, only on Stars. |
| 0:14.7 | We need group-centered leadership. |
| 0:18.2 | We need people-centered leadership. |
| 0:20.4 | And I think that's a much harder effort to |
| 0:24.1 | thwart than it is when you just have one individual who has to represent all interests of all |
| 0:30.7 | people. Another civil rights legend has gone home to glory. I am talking about none other than the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. |
| 0:40.8 | Our flag is red, white, and blue. |
| 0:44.1 | But our nation is rainbow. |
| 0:46.4 | Red, yellow, brown, black, and white. |
| 0:48.7 | We are all precious in God's sight. |
| 0:54.2 | That's Jackson, speaking to the Democratic National Convention in 1984, |
| 0:58.9 | the year of his first run for presidency. |
| 1:01.7 | He championed the idea of a rainbow coalition, |
| 1:04.9 | people of all backgrounds working together to achieve a common goal long before it was popular. |
| 1:09.9 | And come November, there will be a change because our time has come. |
| 1:18.0 | Thank you and God, this. |
| 1:23.1 | Jesse Jackson's runs for the American presidency in 1984 and 1988 paved the way for future |
| 1:28.7 | black leaders, like former President Barack Obama. |
... |
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