How Jesse Jackson helped to make the term ‘African American’ mainstream

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at the age of 84, was instrumental in advocating for the widespread adoption of the term "African American" as a means of reclaiming cultural identity and dignity.

A protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson joined members of the NAACP and other prominent leaders in the late 1980s in their push to replace outdated terms like "coloured" and "blacks".