From State Senator Herron Gaston:
As a pastor, a person devoted to civil rights, and someone who has been steeped in the movement, I believe it’s important to say something in this moment, not just to mourn, but to recommit.
The passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. has left a void that cannot be filled. As a Black man, I am devastated by this loss. Rev. Jackson was my mentor and my friend. He served as a Godfather to so many of us. He was a moral tiger who led with courage and conviction when the cost of doing so was steep.
The Chain Is in Our Hands Now.
The passing of Jesse Jackson is not just the loss of a towering figure, it is a moment of reckoning. Rev. Jackson kept hope alive long after the cameras dimmed, and the headlines faded. He transformed the dream first articulated by Martin Luther King Jr. into organized power, through the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, through voter mobilization, through economic justice campaigns that demanded America live up to its promise.
He once told me, “You are somebody.” Those words were not casual encouragement; they were a charge. They were a declaration that destiny is not determined by the conditions of your birth.
Having interned for the Honorable John Lewis and learned at the feet of many civil rights giants, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, I do not see this moment as one of despair. I feel a burning obligation. The movement is not history to me, it is inheritance. It is in my DNA. I come from a people who are un-bossed and un-bought.
Rev. Jackson taught us that our worth is not determined by the circumstances we are born into, but by the character we build and the fight we wage for those who have no voice. Rev. Jackson’s life was a testament to the power of moral courage. He stood on the front lines when it was dangerous.
I carry this lesson with me every day, from the Church to the floor of the Connecticut State Senate. It fuels my commitment today as Chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee and Vice Chair of the Housing Committee.
Rev. Jackson fought for workers, for voting rights, for the marginalized and the forgotten. He never stopped believing in the possibility of a better America and he never let us forget that we had a role to play in building it.
Rev. Jackson taught us that despair is not an option. Silence is not an answer. And waiting for someone else to act is a betrayal of everything the movement stood for.
To keep the dream alive now means more than reverence. It means organizing where others withdraw. It means protecting voting rights when they are threatened. It means fighting for full inclusion in our schools, our workplaces, and our democracy. It means turning moral conviction into policy and presence.
The civil rights chain is only broken if we refuse to become the next link.
I will always fight for justice because Rev. Jackson showed me how. I will always stand with the vulnerable because that is what the movement demands. And I will always remember that we are somebody because he never let us forget it.
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