Charlie Jackson (far left, in white) stood beside MLK as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
When Charlie Jackson woke up on August 28th, 1963 he was a police officer, a father, and an activist. Within 12 hours, he was an iconic part of history. His face has been in museums, textbooks, and even billboards. Despite this, Charlie’s face is nearly unrecognizable without the man he stood beside on that historic summer day.
The man next to him was civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Charlie was part of a small group of African-American police officers who were asked by the Washington police department to attend the march, as a way to help ease the tension of the day. As Charlie stood by his right side, Dr. King delivered one of the most powerful speeches in history.
Charlie Jackson could have come up with a thousand excuses to not show up on that historic day, and perhaps a few of them ran through his head at one point or another. He had a family and a demanding job. He was a black man in the 1960s and traveling from New Jersey to Washington D.C. left a lot of time to be ridiculed, harassed, and spat on by those who didn’t see him as equal.
What sets Charlie Jackson above many like him is the fact that he threw caution to wind and went after what he believed in. He had no idea he’d be standing next to Dr. King on that day, but he heeded the call anyway. And because he did, he has been forever associated with the most defining moment of the Civil Rights movement.
Charlie died in 1999 but his legacy lives on to this day. His actions have inspired both his children and his community and his story serves as an inspiration for the ordinary radicals of the world. The ones whose names may not be known, those whose actions may not be thanked, and those whose sacrifices may not praised.
This August, during the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit, 1400 Charlie Jackson’s will gather in Los Angeles to learn from some of the brightest minds in the world, and discuss the future of human rights and social justice. Each one has a thousand excuses to not show up. School, work, money, family, the list goes on. If you’re still debating on applying think about where you want to say you were on August 8-11th, 2013. Think about the legacy you want to leave for your children, and think about Charlie Jackson. Today is the final day to apply to alter the course of your life. Don’t miss it.
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