An iconic 1963 speech by Jesse Jackson. A decade later PBS invited him to do a reprise of that call-and-response to introduce the letter "I" on Sesame Street.
"...what they are being told is that they are people. They are not learning to be people. They are not playing at what it will be like to grow up and become people. They are people already, with the same entitlement to dignity as any towering grown-up.... Here, he does not speak with the fire of a protest leader or a politician. He’s like a hip teacher or youth group leader. He engages and encourages the kids in the tones of a classroom.The message of Jackson’s litany is the beginning of education, and the beginning of democracy. It says that you have worth as a person, simply because you are a person. It says that you have a voice. And it says that your voice is most powerful when it joins with other voices.
Jesse Jackson (1941-2026) was a memorable force for those of us coming of age in the 1960s.
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