DALLAS (AP) — The civil rights group founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the 1970s is elevating a new leader for the first time in more than 50 years, choosing a Dallas pastor as his successor to take over the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III is set to be formally installed as president and CEO in a ceremony Thursday in downtown Dallas, replacing Jackson, 82, who announced in July that he would step down.
Jackson, a powerful voice in American politics who helped guide the modern Civil Rights Movement, has dealt with several health issues in recent years and has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Haynes, 63, said he began working with Jackson on the transition in the fall: “I’m appreciative of what he’s poured in to me, which makes me feel like I’ve been prepared for this experience and this moment.”
“One of the things that we have shared with the staff is that we have been the beneficiary of the dynamism, the once-in-a-generation charisma of Rev. Jackson, and now what we want to do is institutionalize it, as it were, make the organization as dynamic and charismatic as Rev. Jackson,” Haynes said.