NBCLA, Feb 18, 2026
Communities that were uplifted by the late activist Rev. Jesse Jackson reflect on how his leadership helped shape their future. Macy Jenkins and Conan Nolan report for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about United States civil rights leader, minister, and politician Rev. Jesse Jackson.
This post also showcases two YouTube videos about Rev. Jesse Jackson. These videos are presented with partial transcripts.
In addition, this pancocojams post presents information about Rev. Jackson's now famous call & response affirmation chant "I Am Somebody".
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jr. for his cultural and political legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Rest in peace Rev. Jackson Jr.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT REV. JESSE JACKSON, JR.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Jackson
"Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; October 8, 1941 – February
17, 2026) was an American civil rights activist, politician, and ordained
Baptist minister. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during
the civil rights movement, he became one of the most prominent civil rights
leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. From 1991 to 1997, he served
as a shadow delegate and shadow senator for the District of Columbia. He was
the father of U.S. representative Jonathan Jackson and former U.S. representative
Jesse Jackson Jr.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson began his activism in the 1960s and founded the organizations that later merged to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Expanding his work into international affairs in the 1980s, he became a vocal critic of the Reagan administration and launched a presidential campaign in 1984. Initially viewed as a fringe candidate, he finished third for the Democratic nomination behind former vice president Walter Mondale and Senator Gary Hart. He continued his activism and mounted a second presidential bid in 1988, finishing as the runner‑up to Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis.
Jackson did not seek the presidency again, but in 1990 he was elected as the District of Columbia's shadow senator, serving one term during the Bush and Clinton administrations. Although initially critical of President Bill Clinton, he later became a supporter. Jackson hosted Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000. A critic of police brutality, the Republican Party, and conservative policies, he was widely regarded as one of the most influential African‑American activists of his era."...
****
EXCERPT OF THE TRANSCRIPT FOR SHOWCASE VIDEO #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szoLtDvku28
{This excerpt begins at 2:50 to portions up to 4:32 in this video.]
..."Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson was a protégé of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior, leaning on his own skills as a great orator to carry on the torch and teach others how to fight for justice...
He was a preacher and a teacher. He would come up with sayings that nobody else would ever think of. "Down with dope. Up with hope."
...having been a black man who had run a real campaign [for President of the United States], he laid the foundation for Barack Obama. Barack Obama would not have been president had it not been for Jesse Jackson. Jackson helped reshape the Democratic Party's primary from a winner take all format to a proportional allocation of votes. …
Young people and generations are going to have to say more than ever, "I am somebody."...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT REV. JACKSON'S CALL & RESPONSE POEM " I AM SOMEBODY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_%E2%80%93_Somebody
" "I Am – Somebody" is a poem often recited by Reverend Jesse Jackson, and was used as part of PUSH-Excel, a program designed to motivate black students.[1]
A similar poem was written in the early 1940s by Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr., senior pastor at the Greater Wheat Street Baptist Church and civil rights activist in Atlanta, Georgia.[2]
History
A recording of Jackson delivering the poem appears on the album I Am Somebody published on Respect Records TAS-2601 in 1971.[3]
Jackson recited the free verse poem on Sesame Street in 1972 (taped in February, aired in May).[citation needed] It was geared to fulfilling Sesame Street’s initial curriculum for serving under-privileged city children, as well as promoting cultural understanding. On Sesame Street, lines of "I am/Somebody" or "But I am/Somebody" were recited in a call and response fashion by Jackson and the children. During the segment, children of multiple races were gathered on the Sesame Street set and led by Jackson in the poem. This performance is included on the 2006 DVD release Sesame Street: Old School.
"I Am – Somebody" was also recited by Jackson, with the assembled crowd at Los Angeles Coliseum for the famous Wattstax Music Festival on August 20, 1972.[4]
It also appears in When We Were Kings, a 1996 documentary examining the historic 1974 Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which was still known as Zaire at that time). It was performed with band as part of a concert preceding the bout that was said to be the finest collection of African American entertainers ever assembled at that time.
The poem inspired the title of a 1998 book called I Am Somebody! (ISBN 0-516-26133-9) by Charnan Simon, but did not print the poem itself.
The phrase has become so much of a calling card for Jackson that he yells it in a cameo in the movie Undercover Brother.
"I Am – Somebody" also inspired a similarly titled song on Carlos Santana's 2005 album, "All That I Am", which featured the American rapper will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas."
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMdMYLN9Rdg
I Am Somebody (Rev. Jesse Jackson) - Sesame Street - May 1972. Beautiful
PeeCee, Feb 3, 2024
-snip-
Rev. Jesse Jackson leads a group of young children in a call & response affirmation centered around his now famous "I am somebody" saying.
[EXCERPT OF THIS VIDEO'S AUTO-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT]
Rev. Jackson- "I am"
Children: -"I am"
Rev. Jackson -"somebody"
Children "somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I may be poor"
Children -I may be poor"
Rev. Jackson -"but I am somebody"
Children - "but I am somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I may be young"
Children - "I may be young"
Rev. Jackson -"but I am somebody"
Children - "but I am somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I may be on welfare"
Children -"I may be on welfare"
Rev. Jackson -"but I am somebody"
Children -"but I am somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I may be small"
Children - "I may be small"
Rev. Jackson - "but I am"
Children - "but I am"
Rev. Jackson -"somebody"
Children - "somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I may make a mistake"
Children -"I may make a mistake"
Rev. Jackson - "but I am"
Children - "but I am"
Rev. Jackson - "somebody"
Children - "somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "My clothes are different"
Children - "My clothes are different"
Rev. Jackson- "My face is different"
Children - "My face is different"
Rev. Jackson - "My hair is different "
Children - "My hair is different"
Rev. Jackson - "but I am"
Children - "but I am"
Rev. Jackson -"somebody"
Children - "somebody"
Rev. Jackson - I am black"
Children- "I am black"
Rev. Jackson - "I am brown"
Children - "I am brown"
Rev. Jackson - " I am white"
Children - "I am white"
Rev. Jackson - "I am somebody"
Children - "I am somebody"
Rev. Jackson - "I speak a different language"
Children -"I speak a different language"
Rev. Jackson -"but I must be respected"
Children -"but I must be respected"
Rev. Jackson - "protected"
Children - "protected"
Rev. Jackson -"never rejected"
Children - "never rejected"
Rev. Jackson -" I am
Children- " I am"
[...]
Rev. Jackson - "I am"
Children -" I am"
Rev. Jackson -"somebody"
Children -"somebody"...
-snip-
This affirmation ends with Rev. Jackson saying "Give yourselves a hand" and he and the children applauding.
This transcription omits the call & response 'I am God's child" so that this affirmation can be used in United States public schools and in other non-religious gatherings.
The call & response "I am on welfare" may be omitted for contemporary use since the word "welfare" may no longer be used and/or that line may be considered very similar to the line "I may be poor".
I recommend that the word "and" be substituted in this "I Am Somebody" affirmation for the word "but". (For example "I am black and I am somebody" instead of "I am black but I am somebody").
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
