That's a wonderful story that paints a far different picture of a man that I despised for purely political reasons. Thank you for sharing.

MLK's personal life was disgusting. A complete hypocrite. I will give him credit for fighting the good fight for equal rights. For having people not be treated based on their skin color.

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When he took his seat in first class Jesse Jackson was seated next to him. They began to talk and dad began telling him how much pain he was in and how he wanted to end it all. They end up kneeling in front of their seats for an extended time, hand in hand, praying together with Jackson asking God to help my dad find joy in his relationships with me and my sister and with God and to help him find a way forward.

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What a great gesture. He didn't have to take the time to do that, but it's good to see the 'pastor' side of him in a quiet moment like that where no one was paying attention. Good for him.

Whether you like Jesse's politics or not, he was a very charismatic dude.

Man, my story of sitting by Jesse Jackson is not near as heartfelt. But… I will say his presence was undeniable. Hard to put in words, but he had a way about him that you could not ignore.

Sat behind him for the 16 hours Delhi to Chicago back in 2008(?) on American in business. He fist bumped my wife in her LSU shirt. I enjoyed that one of the meal selections was pan-fried chicken and sauted spinach. Non eventful otherwise.

But that is an awesome story LOYAL AG and a testament to how the Lord can work in mysterious ways.

I do miss the days when the world was more simple and Tim Conway Jr. was on 97.1 FM in LA (same FM talk station that carried the shows of Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis).

My favorite segment of Conway Jr.'s show was "What the Hell is Jesse Jackson Saying?"

Here's a sample from YouTube from 2008:

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Some men fail to adjust correctly with a shifting environment and therefore outlive their moment, unfortunately.

RIP JJ...

That said...My late father was a marketing exec for a US automaker. He once mentioned long ago that race extortion from Jackson himself played a direct role in choosing who he/they must advertise with.

First Presidential candidate I have memory of as a candidate.

Once ran into him at O'Hare. His security guy, a big black guy that I dwarfed, was standing outside the bathroom.

Jackson came into the restroom as I was washing my hands and proceeded to wash his at another sink.

As I left, I thought about just how much damage I could have done before his lackluster security could have even responded.

BigRobSA said:

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JJackson came into the restroom as I was washing my hands and proceeded to wash his at another sink.

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I believe the proper reaction would've been a look of confusion, then a polite admonishment "sorry, I think the colored bathroom is down the hall and out the back door."

Then wait for a response

That is a nice story. Compared to the way the Democrats act today Jesse Jackson seems almost tame.

Doesn't make up for some of the race-baiting stuff he did, but I think comparatively he was from a different era.

He'd have been a better president than Carter or Clinton, imho.

EX TEXASEX said:

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MLK's personal life was disgusting. A complete hypocrite. I will give him credit for fighting the good fight for equal rights. For having people not be treated based on their skin color.

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Basically everyone's "heroes" are human. Look at FDR and JFK. Their personal lives were pretty scandalous too. Even Trump has his knocks. People are always shades of gray. Doesn't mean they're pure evil at times doesn't mean they're pure good at times.

I mean, Jimmy Carter was a good man clearly very faithful to his wife and family, but was our third worst president ever.

I couldn't imagine the pressure of being the president of the United States really puts on you regardless of your personal life.

Obviously, MLK was never president and as you said did some good things, but again nothing ever plays out the way it is scripted or history looks at it.

Sid Farkas said:

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BigRobSA said:

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JJackson came into the restroom as I was washing my hands and proceeded to wash his at another sink.

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I believe the proper reaction would've been a look of confusion, the a polite admonishment "sorry, I think the colored bathroom is down the hall and out the back door."

Then wait for a response

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I laughed way too hard at this. But was Big Rob in the Hispanic bathroom?

annie88 said:

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Sid Farkas said:

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BigRobSA said:

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JJackson came into the restroom as I was washing my hands and proceeded to wash his at another sink.

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I believe the proper reaction would've been a look of confusion, the a polite admonishment "sorry, I think the colored bathroom is down the hall and out the back door."

Then wait for a response

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I laughed way too hard at this. But was Big Rob in the Hispanic bathroom?

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And if he's up for a scuffle, he could throw in the term "boy".

One random Jesse Jackson story I have is way back in day I worked at Enron straight of of A&M and when it went down I remember in the spring after the bankruptcy he was the one that somehow got them to pay out unused vacation days. I was a year out of school at the time and remember me and my friends were hyped getting that check.

Dang. I remember his Oakland playing days. And the time he hit 3 homers in one game. Gonna miss him.

Didn't know he was still alive. Well, now he's as dead as I figured he's been for years now.

The dude bragged about spitting in the food of white customers when he worked at a hotel or restaurant in South Carolina.

He may have had a moment or two here and there where he wasn't an agry race baiting POS, but that doesn't change that overall he was not a good person and made his living on ensuring that hate and discontent were always at the surface of every issue.

BkYdPitmaster said:

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Dang. I remember his Oakland playing days. And the time he hit 3 homers in one game. Gonna miss him.

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Hell if an actor! Loved him in naked gun

Jesse Jackson funeral is going to be the most black funeral ever. I've got my popcorn ready.

Jesse Jackson also intervened to try and stop the intentional starvation and dehydration of Terry Schiavo. He did some good things in his life, although he was certainly a professional grifter.

Psycho Bunny said:

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Jesse Jackson funeral is going to be the most black funeral ever. I've got my popcorn ready.

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If we don't get a 21 gun salute from the Black Panthers I'll be disappointed.

javajaws said:

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Psycho Bunny said:

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Jesse Jackson funeral is going to be the most black funeral ever. I've got my popcorn ready.

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If we don't get a 21 gun salute from the Black Panthers I'll be disappointed.

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If I don't see a getto gold casket and a bucktooth off tune singer, I'm suing someone.

The media barely took a break from the Guthrie story to break this news. I almost missed it because it got so little coverage compared to the 84 year old missing woman in Arizona.

WestTexasAg said:

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The media barely took a break from the Guthrie story to break this news. I almost missed it because it got so little coverage compared to the 84 year old missing woman in Arizona.

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White woman getting more coverage than a black man.

dmart90 said:

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Like his politics / the man or not, he had the courage to run for national office when there was still some real racism in this country. Respect.

Rest in peace.

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If Mississippi gives you their nomination, is racism really a problem?

Backyard Gator said:

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dmart90 said:

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Like his politics / the man or not, he had the courage to run for national office when there was still some real racism in this country. Respect.

Rest in peace.

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If Mississippi gives you their nomination, is racism really a problem?

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In 1984? Yes.

In 2026? Not so much.