Jackson was an impassioned orator — from an improvised speech that introduced him to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. outside a church in Selma, Alabama to his historic 1984 speech at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. His poem “I Am — Somebody” became a rally cry that spread across the country from protests to Sesame Street, empowering adults and children across all social lines.

He ran for president in 1984 and founded the Rainbow Coalition, an advocacy organization that promoted the collaboration of marginalized groups. He received over 3 million votes in the Democratic primary, landing third in the contest behind Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado and the nominee Walter F. Mondale. He ran again in 1988 with more success, but lost the nomination to Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

“America is not like a blanket — one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread,” he said. “We must leave racial battle ground and come to economic common ground and moral higher ground. America, our time has come. We come from disgrace to amazing grace.”

“Wherever you are tonight, you can make it. Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes. Don’t you surrender. Suffering breeds character, character breeds faith. In the end, faith will not disappoint,” Jackson said.