A Dallas Pastor Is Stepping Into Jesse Jackson's Role as Leader of His Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Source: US News and World Report/AP

Feb. 1, 2024, at 12:07 a.m.


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.

“Whereas he did the work of 50 people, we need 50 people to do the kind of work that Rev. Jackson did," Haynes said. Haynes, who has been senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for over 40 years, will remain in Dallas and continue in that role as he leads the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He said his work at the justice-oriented church will serve as an expansion of the work done by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which will still be based in Chicago.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2024-02-01/a-dallas-pastor-is-stepping-into-jesse-jacksons-role-as-leader-of-his-rainbow-push-coalition