Pittsburgh leaders remember Jesse Jackson as a civil rights "giant"
Jesse Jackson is being remembered by many in the local civil rights movement, including Tim Stevens, who founded the Black Political Empowerment Project in Pittsburgh.
For many, Jackson is considered the bridge between Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and former President Barack Obama.
Stevens said that though Jackson is gone, his goals have not yet been attained, and people need to focus on making that happen.
"Today, on the 17th day of Black History Month, our nation has lost a giant in the fight for civil rights," Stevens said.
He took time on Tuesday to reflect on Jackson's death. Stevens believes Pittsburgh was always a place where Jackson felt at home and amongst friends.
"He loved Nate Smith. Nate Smith, for those of you who don't know, was an activist in the construction industry in Pittsburgh," Stevens said.
Jackson visited the region many times over the span of 50-plus years.
Congresswoman Summer Lee also took time to remember Jackson.
"I've worked closely with my classmate, Jonathan Jackson, who is his son," Lee said. "When I first got sworn in, to see the Rev. Jessie Jackson there in the balcony to watch us get sworn in, that was a surreal moment."
As for Jackson's legacy, Stevens says it might be captured in two sentences, each with three words.
"'Keep hope alive,' and he preached to young black kids in America that 'we are somebody.'"