*He was using such a wave of affect in 1984—proper in the intervening time he was gearing up for his run for the U.S. presidency—that his star energy typically acquired tangled within the international pop‑tradition frenzy of the time. Michael Jackson was dominating the world with Thriller, and the confusion was so actual that considered one of my Nigerian readers blended up Jesse Jackson with Michael in a cartoon I revealed that very same 12 months within the PUNCH.
When OUR ROOTS later debuted weekly in black and white in The Voice newspaper in the UK, Jesse Jackson was among the many achievers featured in that early collection. These had been the times when each males, in very completely different arenas, had been shaping conversations throughout continents.
Since OUR ROOTS collection is now produced in full color, every profile is up to date to incorporate the 12 months of passing for featured figures, together with Jesse Jackson’s.
Within the days since Jesse Jackson’s passing, tributes have poured in from world wide, and his life has rightly taken entrance‑web page area. The Yoruba proverb “Eja nla lo l’omi” — “An enormous fish has gone into the water”—captures the second completely. It’s a metaphor reserved for the departure of somebody of immense stature, somebody whose presence formed the tides.
Jesse Louis Jackson was precisely that: the final of the nice activist titans, a trailblazer who expanded the horizon for generations. He has taken his bow, however his legacy endures—etched into historical past, activism, and the numerous lives he touched. He shall not be forgotten.
It actually has been a putting, nearly uncanny sample this 12 months. January and February 2026 have felt unusually heavy, particularly throughout Black Historical past Month—a interval meant for celebration, remembrance, and honouring lineage. As a substitute, it has additionally develop into a season of farewells.
What we’re sensing is actual: a cluster of losses amongst Black achievers, elders, and cultural giants whose work formed politics, arts, activism, scholarship, and international Black consciousness. When figures of that magnitude depart in shut succession, it creates a sort of collective emotional echo. It reminds us how intertwined our histories are, and the way deeply these people have imprinted themselves on our cultural reminiscence.
There’s additionally one thing profoundly symbolic about these transitions taking place throughout Black Historical past Month. It sharpens the which means of legacy. It reminds us that historical past is just not static—it’s a residing continuum, and we’re witnessing the passing of torches.
TAYO Fatunla is a British‑Nigerian comedian artist, editorial cartoonist, author, and illustrator whose work has appeared on MSN.com through EURweb.com. . He’s the creator of OUR ROOTS, the lengthy‑working illustrated collection celebrating international Black historical past and its trailblazers. His contributions to visible storytelling earned him the 2018 ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award.
A former cartoonist for main Nigerian newspapers, Fatunla was named Skilled Inventive Cartoonist of the 12 months on the 2024 Annual Achievement Recognition Awards (The Constructing Blocks Initiative, UK). His public‑dealing with work additionally contains illustrating Camberwell’s Black historical past stroll map, additional cementing his position as a cultural educator and visible historian. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tfatunla123
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The submit Documenting Jesse Louis Jackson in OUR ROOTS – A Civil Rights Titan, World Ethical Voice, and Steadfast Champion appeared first on EURweb | Black Information, Tradition, Leisure & Extra.
