CNN
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Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to step down as president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the international human and civil rights organization he founded.
Jackson, a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., formed Operation People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) in 1971. It was later renamed after merging in 1996 with another of his organizations – the National Rainbow Coalition. He discussed his upcoming retirement from the role during a recent YouTube live stream broadcast.
“I’m going to make a transition pretty soon,” said Jackson, 81, during a Rainbow PUSH Coalition live stream on July 8.
“I’ve been doing this stuff for 64 years. I was 18 years old,” Jackson said to applause. “I’m going to get a new president for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.”
CNN has reached out to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition for comment.
The organization’s origins stemmed from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket, founded by King, according to the website.
In 1966, King appointed Jackson as the social justice-focused operation’s first director in Chicago.
Jackson established Operation PUSH in 1971 as a way to improve Black communities’ economic conditions across the United States. He launched the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984 with the goal of obtaining equal rights for all Americans, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
“I’m going to work along with the new president and our board, and we’ll have a new president who will, in fact, be working here day to day,” Jackson said.
He added, “I want to see us grow and prosper. We have the ability to build on what we’ve established over the years.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Rev. Jackson “an architect of the soul of Chicago” in a statement Friday.
“Through decades of service, he has led the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights and social justice,” Johnson said. “His faith, his perseverance, his love and his relentless dedication to people inspire all of us to keep pushing for a better tomorrow.”
The coalition has provided more than $6.1 million in student scholarships and helped more than 4,000 families avoid foreclosure throughout its history, according to the organization’s website.
