Photo Caption: Rev. Chuck Singleton recalls his friend and longstanding colleague, Rev. Jesse Jackson. This photo was taken in 1984 with the Rev. Jackson, Rev. Singleton and his wife, Rev. Charlyn.[/caption]

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the fight for civil rights and a two-time presidential candidate, passed away on February 17 at the age of 84. The Rev. Chuck Singleton was a longtime friend and colleague of Jackson. They met in the late ‘60s, when Singleton was 13, as Jackson worked with Chuck’s father, the Rev. Isaac Singleton.

“Rev Jackson’s vision was from eternity forward,” says Rev. Singleton. “His disappointments with injustice didn’t dampen his spirit. He knows that God will balance the scales. The lion lies down, but his echo still roars across the mountains,” said Rev. Singleton.

“Rev. Jackson’s impact reached every corner of the country and around the world, but his connection to the California community was profound,” said Rev. Singleton.

Rev. Singleton recalls the delegate fight Rev. Jackson waged at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Because he was bombastic, He was aggressive. He was! He was one who didn't mind talking loud. And he often rankled people. Not simply government people, not simply white people, but blacks and whites and others who thought he was a bit too loud and aggressive. But I like to call him an aggressive progressive.

What he did, for example, in 1968, though I was only a student and couldn't participate at that time, he did something really fantastic.

Rev Jackson went to the Democratic National Convention with a group of others, and they pretty much aggressively took over. Not the whole convention, but when it came to our state, Illinois, he made some noise, and it was like, oh, man, that's so disruptive.

And many people said, you know, that's not how you do it, man. If you're going to disrupt the Democrats, wow, you got the wrong people.

But he did disrupt, because something wrong and evil had happened. He literally had won the right to be a delegate, along with a few other people who were with him. The powers that be were corruptly holding on to the “Daley” machine power. And so Jesse and company won the argument… loudly, and the results changed some of the rules about how delegates could be seated at the convention.

It's interesting because it paved the way for him to become a viable candidate for the presidency in 1984 and again in 1988, and for Barack Obama to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2008. So sometimes aggressive, sometimes a little noisy, but it was progressive. There were results from his noise and his team’s noise. He did it with a view toward a better future.

A California contingent of leaders will attend the funeral services in Chicago for Reverend Jesse L. Jackson on Friday, March 6, to pay their final respects to the late civil rights leader. For more information or to join, call Kay Joy at (909) 356-5683.

Rev. Singleton has proposed a national “Jesse Jackson Day of Justice” for May this year.

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