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By Jerry Dunfey and Nadine Hack Jerry Dunfey is the 1974 founding president of Global Citizens Circle. Nadine Hack has been actively involved with GCC for 42 of its 52-year history. They have been citizen activists for decades. We asked them to share their reflections about their friend Reverend Jesse Jackson, an international icon, who died at 84 on February 17, 2026.  Reverend Jesse Jackson was a larger-than-life force of nature who deeply inspired people from all sorts of backgrounds, especially but not only African Americans. His ability to build coalitions resonates deeply with Global Citizens Circle mission. We were among those who were privileged to know and work with him for many decades. The first time Rev Jesse climbed aboard Jerry’s motor home that he drove around the country to support important political campaigns was in Atlanta when Ambassador Andrew Young was running for the US Congress. Andy is the honorary co-chair with President Mary Robinson of Global Citizens Circle international advisors. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction.  Local volunteers and others who’d come to Georgia and joined the bandwagon on Jerry’s RV for Andy’s historic races between 1972 and 1976, along with Rev. Jackson, included US Congress woman Maxine Waters then in the California State Assembly, and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a Global Citizens Circle board member for many years, then a legislative assistant to US Congressman Mickey Leland.  In 1984, Jerry’s son Peter Dunfey, brought Rev Jesse to the campus of the University of New Hampshire to register student voters. In 1988, aboard the RV plastered with Keep Hope Alive posters, we traversed through Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, carrying, as always, campaigners famous and unknown. We have fond memories of dancing in the streets as Jesse got the crowds ‘fired up and ready to go’ long before that chant was used by presidential candidate Barack Obama. The moment the camera focused on Rev. Jesse weeping as 2008 Democratic presidential nominee Obama stepped on the stage in Chicago, was as profound as the Red Sea splitting open. We too wept knowing the pivotal role Rev. Jesse had played in getting our nation to that bittersweet yet joyous hour. Our interactions with Rev. Jesse were not just political. We hosted him and his family at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in the 1980s when his youngest daughter attended boarding school in the region. She most recently visited us in Lutry, Switzerland in 2019 and we remain connected with the other members of his family. From 1974 until the present, Global Citizens Circle has highlighted the voices of social justice activists throughout the world. Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’.s granddaughter Yolanda Renee King co-led a 2019 Circle "In the Footsteps of Giants: Grounding and Growing the Dream." Rev. Jesse was with Dr. King when he was assassinated, as was our Global Citizens Circle co-chair, Ambassador Andrew Young. From 1960 as a student in Greensboro, North Carolina, when Rev. Jesse became active in the civil rights movement, joining the local Congress of Racial Equality chapter participating in sit-ins, through 1966 when he began to lead Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference program in Chicago, until his death, Rev. Jesse “fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith.” May his example continue to inspire all of us to create a more just world. Please note: We invite members of the greater Global Citizens Circle community to contribute to GCC Voices. The views and opinions expressed in each blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Global Citizens Circle. May Reverend Jesse Jackson's example continue to inspire all of us to create a more just world." - Jerry Dunfey and Nadine Hack
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