Op-Ed: Jesse Jackson's 1984 Speech Deserves a Revisit

Jesse Jackson's death on Tuesday at age 84 has Jonathan Wolfe revisiting a speech that "is regarded as one of the most significant addresses in the history of American politics." Writing in the New York Times, Wolfe describes Jackson's 1984 "Rainbow Coalition" address at the at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco as a turning point in how Democrats understood their base. Fresh off a losing primary bid behind Walter Mondale and Gary Hart, Jackson used his prime-time slot to argue for a broader, more explicitly multiracial and working-class coalition—one that included "the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised."

Wolfe details how Jackson paired that message with sharp criticism of Ronald Reagan's economic policies and a call for Democrats to recommit to the "perfect mission" they are called to: to help the poor, the jobless, and the marginalized. The speech, which included his famous "quilt" metaphor—that America is "many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread"—was an appeal for unity and hope. "I just want young America to do me one favor, just one favor: exercise the right to dream," he said. Though Jackson would again fail to secure the nomination in 1988, Wolfe notes that his campaigns helped register millions of Black voters. Read the piece in full here.