NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A public procession honoring Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. will take place Saturday in Nashville, with arrival expected between 2 and 2:30 p.m.
The procession will depart from Lewis & Wright Funeral Home, travel down Clarksville Pike, turn left on Jefferson Street, then right on Rosa Parks Boulevard before ending at Public Square Park. Community members are encouraged to be mindful of traffic along the route.
The NAACP Nashville Branch said it joins communities nationwide in mourning the civil rights leader, calling him a “powerful moral voice” whose work advanced voting rights, economic opportunity and educational access.
“‘I am somebody’ is one of the things that resonated most with me as a young person,” said Timothy Hughes, president of the NAACP Nashville Branch. “It made me believe that I could be anything I put my mind to.”
Rev. Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and recipient of the NAACP’s President’s Award and Spingarn Medal, built multiracial coalitions and urged Americans to “keep hope alive” — a message local leaders said continues to inspire the work ahead.
Here’s a beautiful story of how one mother turned her grief journey into a gathering of gratitude… and organ donation awareness.
Robb Coles highlights a special event organized by Cari Hollis – whose 26-year old son Austin died two years ago. Austin agreed to be an organ donor – and that single gesture saved multiple lives.
Cari reached out to as many recipients she could find – several of whom traveled to Nashville for an emotional celebration in Austin’s honor. One woman – whose life was saved by receiving Austin’s lungs – put it simply: “He’s my angel”.
- Rhori Johnston
