reddit/@Fauxmoi
The civil rights leader’s death has prompted people to mark his iconic children’s television appearance while they assess his complex historical impact. A video showing Reverend Jesse Jackson delivering his “I Am Somebody” proclamation to children on Sesame Street has gained widespread distribution following his death announcement. The show presents a permanent element of its history through Jackson who guides young viewers in an interactive session about the value of self-respect. Jackson stated in the segment “I may be poor, but I am somebody. I may be young, but I am somebody.” Jackson stated “My clothes are different. My face is different. My hair is different, but I am somebody.”
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The post sharing the clip drew immediate and emotional responses. Many people expressed their joy about the positive message. One commenter highlighted another of Jackson’s famous lines: “The only time you should look down on someone, is to help them up.” One person commented on the video “Love, love what he told the children on Sesame Street. What a guy!”
The discussion quickly turned to a more nuanced view of the man behind the message. The public persona of the individual was contradicted by personal stories that multiple users shared. A woman described an encounter during a university visit to a male keynote speaker whom she met in 2009. “He was kind of creepy when i met him,” she wrote. “He stared at my friend and i’s breasts… he treated the male students like normal people. but he made us feel very uncomfortable.” She added that the experience was “really disheartening” for her and her friend, who had been huge admirers of his work.
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Other comments pointed to well-documented aspects of his personal life, including infidelity. “Not to take away from his legacy, but he cheated on his wife with a (much younger) staff member and got her pregnant,” one user noted. The conversation expanded to discuss how people should assess artists based on their work instead of focusing on their imperfections. The original commenter explained that by using excellent advocate and activist to describe the subject they created inaccurate description.