"When we're unemployed, we're called lazy; when the whites are unemployed it's called a depression. "

Coalition Builder or Soup Spitter?

Rev. Jesse Jackson is a Baptist minister and civil rights activist with a passion for politics.

Jackson worked along side Martin Luther King, Jr. and supported him as a candidate for U.S. President. He is a Baptist minister, and also founder of the non-profit organization called PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), now known as the RainbowPUSH Coalition.

In 1984 and 1988, Jackson, was unsuccessful in runs for the Democratic party presidential nomination, losing to Walter Mondale in 1984 and Michael Dukakis in 1988. In both of these elections, Jackson ran on what many considered a very liberal platform. He wanted to create a "Rainbow Coalition" of minority groups that included all nationalities, poor, working poor, women, homosexuals, and even white progressives. These elections were ultimately one by Republican candidates Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr.

He has served as an envoy for the U.S in diplomatic missions, such as helping to release American prisoners who were captured in Yugoslavia. In 1984 he won the release of U.S. Navy pilot Robert Goodman from Syria. He is known as a passionate orator, in the tradition of Southern, African American protestant preaching.

During the 2004 Presidential Election, he gathered information to investigate voting results in Ohio and its recount. Jackson called for a congressional debate on the matter and asked for a fair count.

He was enlisted as part of the United Kingdon's "Operation Black Vote," which is a campaign to encourage ethnic minorities in Britain to vote ahead of the May 2005 general elections.

Jackson began his theological studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1964, but deferred his studies when he began working full-time in the civil rights movement. It was not until the year 2000 that Reverend Jackson received his Master of Divinity Degree.

In January 2001, Jackson admitted that he had an extramarital affair resulting in the birth of an illegitimate daughter who was then 20 months old. The mother, former aide Karin Stanford, had worked in the Washington office of Jackson's civil rights group, the RainbowPUSH Coalition. She was paid $40,000 from one of Jackson's tax-exempt charitable organizations to help relocate her to California, in addition to $3,000 per month in continuing support. Also, $365,000 in funds from Rainbow Push were used to purchase Stanford's house. The incident seriously damaged Jackson's credibility.

Some believe that his work in the civil rights arena is a way Jackson works to build a reputation to extort businesses for his self-interest. He admitted, in an interview 1969 with Life Magazine that he would spit into the soups and salads of white customers for "psychological gratification."