[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 130 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5936-H5937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF HELEN BURNS JACKSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) is recognized 
until 10 p.m. as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, Scripture says that you shall know the tree by 
the fruit that it bears. A good tree bears good fruit. Strong trees 
bring forth strong fruit. Loving trees bear loving fruit.
  Mr. Speaker, what then is to be said about a tree whose fruit is a 
respected and courageous freedom fighter?
  Mr. Speaker, I am speaking of a great woman of distinction, Helen 
Burns Jackson, the mother of renowned Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, 
Sr., who is the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition that is based in 
the First Congressional District of Illinois.

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  Mother Burns Jackson, Mr. Speaker, was the epitome of a strong, good, 
fruit-bearing tree.
  She made her transition from life to eternity on September 7, 2015, 
after a lengthy illness. She was surrounded by her loving family and 
her friends.
  A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Ms. Burns Jackson instilled 
in her children a sense of dignity, self-respect, and loving justice in 
the face of the inhumane treatment of African Americans in the 
segregated South.
  Born in 1925, she endured the hardships of poverty, the hardships of 
racism, to raise two sons of great accomplishment, great distinction, 
an American hero and civil rights legend, the Reverent Jesse Louis 
Jackson, Senior, and the Motown music phenomenon Charles Jackson. A 
gifted singer of world renowned.
  Mrs. Burns Jackson herself was a singer and dancer, and she passed on 
a scholarship to a great college to raise her two sons.
  Her life, Mr. Speaker, was the quintessential American story of 
overcoming the odds with an unbreakable will and a deep, abiding faith.
  She planted the seeds of courage, the seeds of perseverance, and the 
seeds of hope in Reverend Jackson and in his brother, Charles.
  Reverend Jackson would go on to not only free American hostages, but 
became the freedom fighter for those who are oppressed and those who 
are poor all around this globe.
  It is on this very day, September 10, 2015, that I rise before the 
House of Representatives to pay tribute to this beautiful and 
extraordinary Movement mother.
  Mrs. Jackson was a cosmetologist by profession, and she was known as 
a towering pillar of her community. Her home became the central station 
of the civil rights movement.
  Mr. Speaker, she often provided me with great encouragement when she 
traveled to Chicago to visit her son and his family.

[[Page H5937]]

  As a young activist, I certainly was inspired by her words of wisdom. 
As a young activist, she inspired me to commit myself to serving 
others.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that trees are the Earth's endless 
efforts to nurture life. Mrs. Helen Burns Jackson was a beautiful tall 
tree among all of us who has returned to the heavenly glory of her God, 
our God Almighty.
  Her spirit lives not only in her children, her grandchildren, and in 
her great-grandchildren, but her spirit also lives in the righteous 
fruits that may be found in those of us who were touched by the endless 
love, the great kindness, the great grace, and the tremendous wisdom of 
Ms. Helen Burns Jackson.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the First Congressional 
District and on behalf of my loving wife, Carolyn, we pay tribute to 
this remarkable and special woman, this great tree, this inspiration to 
all of us, Ms. Helen Burns Jackson. She is indeed a mother of the 
movement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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