It was 1965 in Selma, Alabama when Jesse Jackson joined a peaceful protest alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Protestors were marching from Selma to Montgomery when state troopers began to brutally attack the protesters. This event shocked millions, and would later be known as Bloody Sunday. This would just be the beginning of Jackson’s career as a civil rights activist.

After graduating from college in 1964, Jackson began graduate work at Chicago Theological Seminary, but later decided to leave school to go work for King. Jackson traveled with King to Memphis, and was just one floor below King when he was assassinated. He told reporters he was the last to speak with King who he claimed died in his arms.

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