A few minutes ago, I received the sad news of the passing of the Right Reverend Jesse Jackson at the age of 84.
I first met Jesse Jackson in 1982 or 1983, just before he ran for President of the United States under the Democratic Party. We met at an event at Solar Records during a cool jazz festival, where Black promoters were demanding equity. They could not understand why a Black festival of that magnitude was being promoted exclusively by white promoters, and Jesse stepped in and resolved the matter. From that moment, we became friends.
I remained close to him as he ran for president in 1984, when I believe he came third, and again in 1988, when he came second in the primaries. At one point, Jesse called me and asked if I could help secure an aircraft from Nigeria so he could visit the frontline states that had just been bombed by South African forces. I approached Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, who was then Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, and he made the aircraft available. Jesse flew into Lagos, and we travelled with him across Southern Africa, Mozambique, Angola, and Zimbabwe, meeting leaders and presidents of the frontline states, as well as the ANC in exile in Lusaka.
Jesse Jackson was a dear friend and a truly great man. I was one of his biggest admirers, and I will deeply miss him. I am saddened that we have lost such an extraordinary icon—one with direct links to Martin Luther King Jr. I consider it a great honour to have known him and to have called him my friend. I pray that his family finds strength in this painful moment, even as the rest of us mourn the loss of an incredible figure who will never be forgotten. Rest well, my friend.
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Ben Murray-Bruce 
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