Late Rev. Jackson visited Tiffin

TIFFIN — Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and minister known nationwide for his work on voting rights and economic justice, died Feb. 17 at age 84. He also shared a small connection to Seneca County. Jackson delivered the commencement address at Tiffin University in May 1992, bringing a prominent voice of the civil rights movement to the Northwest Ohio campus. He gained national attention during the civil rights era while working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., later founding Operation PUSH to promote economic opportunity and corporate accountability. He also is one of the first Black men to have sought the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988, campaigns that drew new voters into the political process and highlighted issues facing working families and underserved communities. In later years, his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., spoke in Tiffin during a Martin Luther King Jr. observance program, recalling his father's earlier visit and urging continued work toward equality.