Key quotes from the Rev. Jesse Jackson that define his political views

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at the age of 84, was known not just as a tireless advocate for the Civil Rights Movement but as one of its most dynamic orators. He spoke tirelessly for the poor and marginalized on issues from voting rights to housing. Jackson also gave numerous speeches as the leader of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and as a presidential candidate in the 1980s. In his later years, he did the same for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Here are some notable and defining words from Jackson.

America as a patchwork quilt

At the Democratic National Convention in 1984 during his first run for president, he said:

“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.”

‘Keep hope alive’

He offered encouragement in his convention speech four years later, when he nearly captured the 1988 Democratic nomination:

“You must not surrender. You may or may not get there, but just know that you’re qualified and you hold on and hold out. We must never surrender. America will get better and better. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. On tomorrow night and beyond, keep hope alive.”

Crime in the ’90s

To students at Kansas State University in November 1993 about taking a stand against the rise in violent crime, he said:

“At this stage we are on the defensive as a struggle, as a humane struggle. Fear: it is pushing hope back. Cowardice is pushing courage back. Death is taking the joy of life. Dope is outdistancing hope. Escapism is outdistancing embrace. When youth come alive, you have the energy, the strength, the need, and the moral authority to make America better and the whole world more secure.”

‘More futures and fewer young funerals’

In Virginia, at the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in September 2008, he said of the new span:

“It must lead to more futures and fewer young funerals. It must embrace Dr. King’s last dream, a poor people’s campaign, where all could come together with a job, income, education, and health care. A bridge that leads us from racial battleground to economic common ground. It leads us to healing.”

Dare to dream big

To students at the Cambridge Union Society in England in December 2013, he said:

“Common ground leads to coalition, to cooperation, to reconciliation and redemption, and to higher moral and economic ground. The challenge of this new world, so connected by technology, is yours to bear and yours to share. I want to say to you young people especially — keep reaching beyond your grasp, keep dreaming beyond your circumstances, keep dreaming of a new Europe. When young people move, the world changes.”