Reflections from the funeral of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson

WATCHING the funeral of Jesse Jackson was a sobering reminder that some of the world’s greatest freedom fighters never stopped caring about South Africa, even after the global spotlight faded.

- THULANI DASA | Khayelitsha

For many of us who grew up in the shadow of apartheid’s collapse, Jackson's life forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth: political freedom arrived, but economic justice remains painfully out of reach.

Jackson was not merely an American civil rights leader observing our struggle from afar. He was among those who carried South Africa in their conscience long after the television cameras and international headlines had moved on.

When sanctions campaigns, boycotts, and global pressure helped weaken the apartheid regime, figures like Jackson continued to remind the world that freedom meant more than a flag and an anthem. It meant dignity, opportunity, and equality for the people who had been locked out of the economy for generations.