By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Former President Barack Obama said his path to the White House was laid by late civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

The public home going service for Jackson was at House of Hope in Chicago on Friday.

Obama said he was nominated for the presidency because of the path Jackson laid when he ran for president in 1984 and 1988.

“Because of his courage, his audacity, that two decades later, a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination,” Obama said.

Former presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton also attended the service.

Other speakers included Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Pritzker said you could feel Jackson’s spirit in the movements for justice that grew from the seeds he tilled.

“His ambition, the North Star of his advocacy, was to shape a world where justice is not an anomaly but a constant,” Pritzker said.

Johnson spoke for several minutes before encouraging musical accompaniment. He then said it is time to fully fund education and build an economy that works for all.

“Black, brown, white, Asian, young, old, it is time for the ultra-rich to pay their fair share in taxes on the other side of the bridge. Reverend, you crossed your bridge. We know our assignment. We see you on the other side,” Johnson said, as music played and the crowd rose to its feet.

Jackson died Feb. 17 at the age of 84.

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