EJI Founder Bryan Stevenson remembers legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson

Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson shares his memories of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Tuesday, February 17, 2026 – Photo from WAKA Action 8 News

Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative, is remembering the life and work of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the King’s assassination, died today at 84.

In Montgomery, Stevenson leads EJI, which he started in 1989 to provide legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused while behind bars. He remembers Jackson has someone who fought for those who otherwise had no voice.

“He was a champion for anyone who needed a champion, immigrant populations, poor white people, people who were being displaced by corporate policies. He was a champion for anyone who needed a champion. When he said, ‘Keep hope alive,’ when he said, ‘You are somebody,’ he wasn’t just talking to African-Americans. He was talking to anybody who had been doubted, who had been pushed down, who had been silenced, and I think that’s the legacy of Jesse Jackson that will never be forgotten.”

READ: More Memories of Rev. Jesse Jackson from local elected leaders