“Many of us hear your words echo in our ear, ‘I am somebody,’” Peoples said to Jackson, 83, while placing his hand on Jackson’s shoulder as the elder man sat in a wheelchair on stage and did not speak to the gathered delegates.
Jackson has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“You are one that is to be admired and respected for your contribution to your people,” Peoples continued, “a pillar of strength for the Black community and the Civil Rights Movement for over seven decades, and a voice in the wilderness with an established legacy that will forever endure.”
While honoring Jackson, the convention stage was filled with veterans of Black preaching and the Civil Rights Movement, including the Rev. Otis Moss Jr., pastor emeritus at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, and former PNBC presidents.
Younger leaders said they relished the historic moment, but also saw it as a part of a new call to action.
“It was an emotional time because what became clear to me in that moment is that the soldiers who’ve been on the battlefield fighting are weary,” said the Rev. Keith Byrd Sr., PNBC first vice president, “and what they’re weary from, perhaps, is not so much the struggle, but the idea that nobody will step into the gap and take up where they leave off. If not us, then who?”
This article originally appeared here.
