President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tribute to US civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson drew laughter and applause during the homegoing celebration in Chicago on Saturday.
His arrival set the tone: as Ramaphosa stepped into Chicago’s Rainbow Push Coalition headquarters on the city’s South Side, he was greeted with a respectful bow from congressman Jonathan Jackson, Jesse’s son.
Jesse, a towering figure in the civil rights movement, died at the age of 84 in Chicago on February 17.
At the podium Ramaphosa opened his eulogy with humour before reflecting on Jackson’s decades of solidarity with South Africa.
“Programme director, I heard you say if you are not a Jackson, you can only speak for two minutes. But I have travelled 14,000km, which is 9,000 miles, over 24 hours. Jesse Jackson’s story and relationship with South Africa can never be told in two minutes. So indulge me in my 30 minutes.”
The president went on to deliver one of the longest tributes at the service, which was attended by former US presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, alongside former US vice president Kamala Harris and other dignitaries.
Ramaphosa reflected on Jackson’s enduring solidarity with South Africa during the apartheid years, saying the civil rights leader’s activism stretched far beyond his own country.
“Today [Saturday] we are also here, as South Africans, to claim Reverend Jesse Jackson as one of our own. We lay claim on him today because he laid claim on us first.”
The president recounted how Jackson raised his voice for South Africa at a time when many in the world looked away.
“When our cause was ignored and many would look away and walk away, he stood firm in solidarity with us. He looked at a people he had never met and said: ‘Your pain is my pain, your chains are my chains, and your struggle for freedom is my struggle.’”
Ramaphosa said Jackson’s activism, from advocating sanctions against the apartheid government to marching internationally in support of Nelson Mandela’s release, left a lasting impression on South Africans.
“His rallying call ‘Keep hope alive’ became a compass for our struggle and gave us hope for victory over the evil system of apartheid.”
He concluded by thanking the Jackson family for sharing the civil rights leader with the world, saying South Africans remain deeply grateful for his support during the country’s darkest years.
TimesLIVE
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