Jacqueline Jackson

Jackson was born Jacqueline Lavinia Davis on March 7, 1944{{cite news |last1=Olphin |first1=Olivia |title=Who is Rev Jesse Jackson's wife? Meet Jaqueline L. Jackson |url=https://www.thefocus.news/culture/jesse-jackson-wife/ |access-date=July 8, 2021 |publisher=The Focus |date=May 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803171020/https://www.thefocus.news/culture/jesse-jackson-wife/ |url-status=live }} in Fort Pierce, Florida, to Gertrude "Gertie" Davis (March 7, 1927 – July 13, 2017), an "unwed migrant worker who earned 15 cents an hour picking beans."{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Lois |title=The Pride of Jackie Jackson |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/24/the-pride-of-jackie-jackson/0d2e8b34-3121-483c-90ba-dcf4cd7f72d4/ |access-date=July 8, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 24, 1988 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803171011/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/24/the-pride-of-jackie-jackson/0d2e8b34-3121-483c-90ba-dcf4cd7f72d4/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Mother-in-Law of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gertrude Davis Brown Passes At 90 |url=https://chicagodefender.com/mother-in-law-of-rev-jesse-jackson-gertrude-davis-brown-passes-at-90/ |access-date=July 8, 2021 |publisher=Chicago Defender |date=July 19, 2017 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803170958/https://chicagodefender.com/mother-in-law-of-rev-jesse-jackson-gertrude-davis-brown-passes-at-90/ |url-status=live }} Jackson never saw her father.{{cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Al |title=Jackson's 'exciting' wife campaigning dramatically |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/622483085/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |agency=The Los Angeles Times |date=May 30, 1984 |page=A17}} Her mother married Navy Chief Petty Officer Julius Frances Brown Sr. when Jackson was five, and the family relocated to Newport News, Virginia.{{cite news |title=Gertrude Davis Brown Death Notice |url=https://chicagocrusader.com/gertrude-davis-brown-death-notice/ |access-date=July 8, 2021 |publisher=Chicago Crusader |date=July 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In an interview Jackson stated she believed her mother to be "too strict" when she was a child. She considered becoming a nun when she was a teenager, but eventually decided not to pursue that path.{{cite news |last1=Gaiter |first1=Dorothy J. |title=Jacqueline Jackson Carries Her Share of Campaign Burden |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/624507574/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=April 29, 1984 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128163338/https://www.newspapers.com/image/624507574/?terms=%22Jacqueline+Jackson%22&match=1 |url-status=live }} She has four half-siblings through her mother. According to biographer Marshall Frady's book Jesse, Jackson's maternal grandmother was a prostitute.{{cite book |last1=Frady |first1=Marshall |title=Jesse |date=2006 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781416543497 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeXuaFDq4p4C |access-date=July 8, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803170958/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse/QeXuaFDq4p4C?hl=en&gbpv=1 |url-status=live }}

Jackson attended Huntington High School in West Virginia before entering North Carolina A&T State University, then known as the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina.{{cite news |last1=Evertz |first1=Mary |title=Jesse Jackson's "most loyal critic' to visit |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/05/16/jesse-jackson-s-most-loyal-critic-to-visit/ |access-date=July 9, 2021 |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |date=September 29, 2005 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803170959/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/05/16/jesse-jackson-s-most-loyal-critic-to-visit/ |url-status=live }} While a student at A&T, she was a civil rights protester.{{cite journal |title=Jesse Jackson |journal=Journal of Defense & Diplomacy |date=1988 |volume=6 |page=53 |publisher=Defense & Diplomacy, Incorporated}} In an interview with the Public Broadcasting Service, she recounted writing a persuasive paper on how China should get a seat in the United Nations.{{cite news |title=Interview with Jackie Jackson |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/jesse/interviews/jackie.html |access-date=August 6, 2021 |publisher=PBS |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116065828/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/jesse/interviews/jackie.html |url-status=live }} Jackson ended up dropping out of A&T when her first child, Santita, was born.{{cite news |last1=Hamilton |first1=Mildred |title=Jacqueline Jackson follows her own agenda |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/460930677/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |publisher=The San Francisco Examiner |date=May 14, 1984 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128163346/https://www.newspapers.com/image/460930677/?terms=%22Jacqueline+Jackson%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}

File:Jacksons visit Gandhi's grave.jpg's grave in India. Jackson appears in the right foreground. To her right is her husband Jesse Jackson.]]

In 2013, Jackson's son Jesse Jr. pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign laws and was incarcerated for 30 months. While her son was in prison, Jackson wrote him a letter every day.{{cite news |last1=Howard |first1=Marilyn K. |title=Book Review: Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray: Letters to My Son in Prison by Jacqueline L. Jackson |url=https://columbusfreepress.com/article/book-review-loving-you-thinking-you-don%E2%80%99t-forget-pray-letters-my-son-prison-jacqueline-l |access-date=August 3, 2021 |publisher=Columbus Free Press |date=October 10, 2019 |archive-date=October 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028080730/http://columbusfreepress.com/article/book-review-loving-you-thinking-you-don%E2%80%99t-forget-pray-letters-my-son-prison-jacqueline-l |url-status=live }} After Jesse Jr. was released, Jackson compiled the letters she had sent to him in a book Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray,{{cite news |title=Jesse Jackson Jr. says his mother's determination pulled him out of a dark place in prison |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jesse-jackson-jr-and-mother-jacqueline-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |access-date=August 3, 2021 |publisher=CBS News |date=February 6, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002506/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jesse-jackson-jr-and-mother-jacqueline-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |url-status=live }} which was published by Skyhorse Publishing.{{cite news |title=Jesse Jackson Jr.'s mother is releasing of book of letters |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/9/25/18354432/jesse-jackson-jr-s-mother-is-releasing-of-book-of-letters |access-date=August 3, 2021 |publisher=Associated Press |date=September 25, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031828/https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/9/25/18354432/jesse-jackson-jr-s-mother-is-releasing-of-book-of-letters |url-status=live }} To promote the book, Jackson and Jesse Jr. appeared on CBS This Morning{{cite news |title=Jesse Jackson Jr. says his mother's determination pulled him out of a dark place in prison |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jesse-jackson-jr-and-mother-jacqueline-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |access-date=August 6, 2021 |publisher=CBS |date=February 6, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002506/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jesse-jackson-jr-and-mother-jacqueline-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |url-status=live }} and WGN (AM).{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=John |title=Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Jacqueline Jackson on publishing "Letters to My Son in Prison" |url=https://wgnradio.com/john-williams/jesse-jackson-jr-and-jacqueline-jackson-on-publishing-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |access-date=August 3, 2021 |publisher=WGN AM |date=February 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128022958/https://wgnradio.com/john-williams/jesse-jackson-jr-and-jacqueline-jackson-on-publishing-letters-to-my-son-in-prison/ |url-status=live }} Salon wrote, "They used their media appearances to discuss criminal justice reform, the moral failures of the penal system and how best to assimilate ex-convicts, especially those who are not former members of Congress, into roles of productive citizenship."{{cite news |last1=Masciotra |first1=David |title=Jesse Jackson Jr. warned us about democracy: It's hobbling, "on one broken leg, and drunk" |url=https://www.salon.com/2021/06/13/jesse-jackson-jr-warned-us-about-democracy-its-hobbling-on-one-broken-leg-and-drunk/ |access-date=August 3, 2021 |work=Salon |date=June 13, 2021 |archive-date=August 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801140025/https://www.salon.com/2021/06/13/jesse-jackson-jr-warned-us-about-democracy-its-hobbling-on-one-broken-leg-and-drunk/ |url-status=live }}

In 1979, Jackson traveled with activist Jack O'Dell to Beirut to speak to Palestinian leaders, including Yasser Arafat.{{cite book |last1=O'Dell |first1=Jack |title=Climbin' Jacob's Ladder |date=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520274549 |page=43}} Writing for Ebony in 1984, journalist Hans Massaquoi stated Jackson was "an eloquent spokesperson for oppressed minorities, including Black women."{{cite journal |last1=Massaquoi |first1=Hans |title=I'd Make A Great First Lady |journal=Ebony |date=July 1984 |volume=XXXIX |issue=9 |page=25}} In 1985, Jackson led a delegation of 10 women to Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia for relief efforts during droughts across those countries.{{cite journal |title=Jackson Reports on Visit With Pope and Groups In Europe |journal=Jet |date=January 28, 1985 |volume=67 |issue=20 |page=7}}

In 2001, Jackson was arrested at Camp Garcia Vieques in Vieques, Puerto Rico with nine other activists for misdemeanor trespassing while protesting the United States Navy's bombing tests in the area. She was ordered to comply with a strip search and body cavity search; while she lifted her breasts and undressed, she would not comply with the body cavity search. Because of the incident, she was placed in solitary confinement.{{cite news|last1=Wickam|first1=DeWayne|date=July 2, 2001|title=Jackson's wife subjected to embarrassment|publisher=The Noblesville Ledger|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/354119813/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1|url-status=live|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128163325/https://www.newspapers.com/image/354119813/?terms=%22Jacqueline+Jackson%22&match=1|archive-date=January 28, 2022}} She was held in jail in San Juan for 10 days, refusing to post the $3000 bail.{{cite journal |title=Rev. Jackson's Wife, Jacqueline, Jailed in Puerto Rico Bombing Protest |journal=Jet |date=July 9, 2001 |volume=100 |issue=4 |page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7UDAAAAMBAJ&dq=jacqueline+jackson+and+reverend+jesse&pg=PA6 |access-date=July 8, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803171000/https://books.google.com/books?id=q7UDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=jacqueline+jackson+and+reverend+jesse&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsxvKHpdTxAhW5GDQIHRzIDvo4FBDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=jacqueline%20jackson%20and%20reverend%20jesse&f=false |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Snodgrass |first1=Mary Ellen |title=Civil Disobedience An Encyclopedic History of Dissidence in the United States |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317474418 |page=318 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mGrxBwAAQBAJ&dq=jacqueline+jackson+and+peace+protest&pg=PA318 |access-date=July 8, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803170959/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Civil_Disobedience/mGrxBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jacqueline+jackson+and+peace+protest&pg=PA318&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }} During the stint in jail, she rejected several meals.{{cite news |title=Jesse Jackson's wife finishes sentence for Vieques protest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/178281140/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |publisher=Associated Press |date=June 28, 2001 |page=4}} Jesse came to meet her when she was released.{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Ian |title=Jaqueline Jackson completes sentence for Vieques protest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/244197378/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |publisher=The Desert Sun |date=June 28, 2001 |page=8}} She stated, "This has been a very humiliating experience and dehumanizing experience for me." She received the Peace & Justice Award from Rainbow/PUSH for her efforts during the protest.{{cite journal|title= Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Celebrates 30th Anniversary |journal=Jet |date=Aug 27, 2001 |volume=100 |issue=11 |page=51 |issn=0021-5996}}

Jackson was the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina A&T State University in May 2021 "for a lifetime of dedicated service".{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Jesse |title=Jacqueline Lavinia Brown Jackson Will Become an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters For a Lifetime of Dedicated Service |url=https://chicagocrusader.com/jacqueline-lavinia-brown-jackson-will-become-an-honorary-doctor-of-humane-letters-for-a-lifetime-of-dedicated-service/ |access-date=July 9, 2021 |publisher=Chicago Crusader |date=May 8, 2021 |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508181831/https://chicagocrusader.com/jacqueline-lavinia-brown-jackson-will-become-an-honorary-doctor-of-humane-letters-for-a-lifetime-of-dedicated-service/ |url-status=live }}

During her husband Jesse's run for the US presidential nomination on the Democratic ticket in 1984, she spoke at a fundraiser at Howard University, where she stated, "Any woman who cannot vote for Jesse Jackson betrays her own cause."{{cite news |last1=Gaiter |first1=Dorothy J. |title=Jacqueline Jackson Finds Own Role |access-date=July 8, 2021 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/18/us/jacqueline-jackson-finds-own-role.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 18, 1984 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130033258/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/18/us/jacqueline-jackson-finds-own-role.html |url-status=live }} During Jesse's run, Jackson insisted the campaign not answer questions about their personal lives. She was criticized for wearing designer attire and for her "extravagant taste in fashion", wearing dresses by Cuban designer Adolfo, American designer Bill Blass, and Greek designer James Galanos.{{cite news |last1=Amon |first1=Rhoda |title=Running On Politics And Panache |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/704154972/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |publisher=Newsday |date=June 7, 1984 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128163338/https://www.newspapers.com/image/704154972/?terms=%22Jacqueline+Jackson%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}

During the United States presidential election of 2008, Jackson supported Hillary Clinton as the nominee over Barack Obama. Discussing politics on NPR, she said: {{Blockquote

|text= "...she's the best person for this country at this time. We have a failing economy at this time. The image of women is at rock bottom. I'm looking for someone to elevate not only the economy, but the image of women. Because I know that women are the nucleus of every society, and whenever a society is failing or on its way out, look at the character, look at the way women are treated, and then you will see what the future holds for our children and that country."{{cite news |title=Spouses Split on High Profile Political Endorsements |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18296095 |access-date=July 9, 2021 |publisher=NPR |date=January 22, 200 |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218234717/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18296095 |url-status=live }}}}

Jackson met Jesse during her freshman year at A&T College. On December 31, 1962, in her sophomore year, the 18-year-old Jackson married Jesse at his parents' home.{{cite book |last1=Leeman |first1=Richard W. |title=American Voices An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Orators |date=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313327902 |page=192}}{{cite book |last1=Haskins |first1=Jim |last2=Benson |first2=Kathleen |title=African American religious leaders |date=2008 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780470231425 |page=128}} Together they have five children: Santita (1963), Jesse Jr. (1965), Jonathan Luther (1966), Yusef DuBois (1970), and Jacqueline Lavinia (1975).{{cite web|url=http://www.tms.tribune.com/htmlmail/consumer/profiles/bios/jacksonbio.htm |title=Voices & Viewpoints: Jesse Jackson. |access-date=July 10, 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030820164407/http://www.tms.tribune.com/htmlmail/consumer/profiles/bios/jacksonbio.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2003 }}

According to a 1987 article in the Chicago Tribune, Jackson "held the majority of the family's assets in her name", including stock worth above $250,000 in the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, an owner of radio stations. She also owned a home with Jesse on the South Side of Chicago worth $100,000. At that time, the family's assets were approximately between $397,000 and $600,000.{{cite news|last1=Gibson|first1=Ray|date=October 29, 1987|title=Jackson report shows pay from family firm|page=5|publisher=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/388623020/?terms=%22Jacqueline%20Jackson%22&match=1|access-date=January 28, 2022}}

In August 2021, Jackson and her husband were hospitalized with COVID-19.{{cite news |last1=Falconer |first1=Rebecca |title=Jesse and Jacqueline Jackson hospitalized with COVID |url=https://www.axios.com/jesse-jackson-hospitalized-covid-e9e1a12b-755e-4b52-958f-0694771ef478.html |access-date=22 August 2021 |publisher=Axios |date=August 21, 2021 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822021835/https://www.axios.com/jesse-jackson-hospitalized-covid-e9e1a12b-755e-4b52-958f-0694771ef478.html |url-status=live }} She had not been vaccinated.{{cite news |last1=Kenney |first1=Madeline |title=Wife of Rev. Jesse Jackson now 'a true proponent' of vaccination as they recover from COVID-19 |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/9/18/22681009/rev-jesse-jackson-jacqueline-wife-covid-recovery-rainbow-push |access-date=November 15, 2021 |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |date=September 18, 2021 |archive-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922194447/https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/9/18/22681009/rev-jesse-jackson-jacqueline-wife-covid-recovery-rainbow-push |url-status=live }} On August 27, she was in the intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital while her husband was transferred to a rehabilitation facility.{{Cite web|date=2021-08-27|title=Rev. Jesse Jackson Moved To Rehab Facility As COVID Symptoms Subside, But Wife Jacqueline Moved To ICU|url=https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/08/27/rev-jesse-jackson-covid-rehab-facility-wife-jacqueline-jackson-icu/|access-date=2021-08-29|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828235326/https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/08/27/rev-jesse-jackson-covid-rehab-facility-wife-jacqueline-jackson-icu/|url-status=live}} On September 4, she returned home.{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Andy |title=Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, is home after hospitalization for Covid-19 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/us/jacqueline-jackson-covid-hospital-discharge/index.html |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918110940/https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/us/jacqueline-jackson-covid-hospital-discharge/index.html |url-status=live }} After recovering from COVID-19 she publicly stated than everyone should be getting vaccinated and following CDC guidelines.{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Madeline |title=Wife of Rev. Jesse Jackson now 'a true proponent' of vaccination as they recover from COVID-19 |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/9/18/22681009/rev-jesse-jackson-jacqueline-wife-covid-recovery-rainbow-push |access-date= June 13, 2022 |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |date=September 18, 2021}}

• Jackson, Jaqueline Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray (2019) {{ISBN|978-1948924320}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia}}

Category:1944 births

Category:Living people

Category:African-American activists

Category:North Carolina A&T State University alumni

Category:21st-century African-American people

Category:Huntington High School (West Virginia) alumni

Category:Family of Jesse Jackson