I am probably one of the few people who have heard in person part of a Jesse Jackson speech, as well as part of a Ku Klux Klan member's speech.
I heard both at public outdoor gatherings in Lexington, Kentucky, many years ago. The events were on two different dates.
I don’t remember much about either speech. The focus of this article is on one specific incident at each event.
Jesse Jackson apparently felt it would create the wrong impression to accept an umbrella from a white man, me, on a rainy day.
A KKK speaker apparently felt it would create the wrong impression to get water from a black man on a hot day.
Jesse
Jackson
The
Jesse Jackson speech took place outdoors at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky,
many years ago. It was an overcast day, so I had an umbrella with me.
As I recall, Jesse Jackson did not have a microphone. It was difficult for me to hear him at first. I was relatively far back in the crowd. But as he spoke, rain began to fall. Jackson did not have an umbrella, nor do I recall others having one.
Some of the persons near me stated that they didn’t expect rain,
they couldn’t hear Jackson's words, and so they were leaving. Several left. I didn’t open my umbrella,
because of the crowd of people.
As
Jackson continued to speak, the rain became harder. Many more persons left. I
gradually moved forward as empty spaces opened up until I was in the front of the now small group. The rain was
almost a downpour now.
I took a step or perhaps a few steps toward Jackson, holding my unopened umbrella out toward him. He shook his head no, so I stopped. Gentlemen on either side of Jesse Jackson, perhaps two on each side, possibly bodyguards, moved closer to him. If I remember correctly, one of those gentlemen said to Jackson something like, "that white man looks suspicious" (indicating me), and asked Jackson if he wanted them to take me out. Jackson replied something like, "No, he’s just offering me his umbrella."
The man asked
Jackson if he wanted him to ask me for my umbrella for Jackson, since I wasn’t using it myself anyway. Jackson
replied no. The man asked why not. Jackson stated something like, “They wouldn’t
understand,” apparently indicating the remaining persons in attendance, who were
mostly black I think. Then Jackson looked at me and said quietly to those gentlemen
near him something like, “He’s the real Rainbow Coalition.”
I’m
not truly a rainbow coalition. I have inherent biases as do all humans. But I
do seek unity and fairness for all, which I think is basically what the Rainbow
Coalition under Jackson has strived for.
The term Rainbow Coalition may originally have referred to a 1969 group led by the Black Panthers, as noted by a PBS piece [1] and numerous other sources. However, in 1983 when Jesse Jackson announced his campaign for the 1984 Presidential election, he used the term rainbow coalition to refer to a diverse group of persons united together for positive change. In 1984 Jackson formally formed the National Rainbow Coalition, which in 1996 merged with Operation PUSH to become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, as noted by History [2], Rainbow PUSH [3], and numerous other sources.
If my original interpretation at the time of the incident at the Lexington rally decades ago and my current memory of it are correct, the Reverend Jesse Jackson could not accept my umbrella, because many in attendance would have taken offense at the minister accepting an umbrella from a white man.
The 2025 picture below is of an umbrella I own that is similar to the one I had at the Jesse Jackson Rainbow
Coalition rally.
I don't think I took any photos at the Jesse Jackson speech, either because I didn't take my camera or because I didn't want to risk getting it wet in the rain.
The
Ku Klux Klan
On
another date, I attended part of a public outdoor Ku Klux Klan rally in downtown Lexington.
The Klan speaker was on the steps of Lexington’s courthouse. That courthouse still
exists, but is no longer used for court functions due to construction of new Circuit
and District courthouse buildings.
I
did not stay for the entire speech. But I remember it was an unusually hot day. If
I remember correctly, I was in the shade drinking cool water in lightweight
clothing as I listened to part of the speech.
But
the speaker was standing on the courthouse steps in the sun. Furthermore, he
was wearing KKK garb that was likely hot. He occasionally wiped sweat off with
a handkerchief or some other type of cloth. Neither he nor the other Klansmen nearby
seemed to have any water. That seemed unusual to me, as hot as it was that day.
I
thought he looked at me, then stated to one of those with him that it would be
nice if I gave him some water. I started to get up to take him a bottle of
water. As I recall, I think I had at least one extra one.
However,
as I started to get up holding the water, I heard an inaudible inner voice state
something like, “Don’t. If he wants water, we’ve got plenty over here. Make him
come down and get it.”
I
stopped. I wondered what the voice meant. I looked around and several feet away
on my right was a small group of blacks. As I looked at them, I saw a few of
them holding bottles of water out toward the speaker, who remained on the courthouse
steps.
The
speaker looked at them, apparently angry, and did not step down for water. I
got the impression that this KKK member felt it inappropriate to step down to accept
assistance from black persons.
I probably did not take the picture below at the rally where I heard part of the KKK speech. I'm guessing that I took it at another public KKK gathering where I didn’t stay long enough to hear much of the speech.
The picture below is a digital photo of a print photo I took on October 20, 2001. I only know the date because I wrote it on the back of the original photo.
Closing Thoughts
To
me it seemed a sad reflection of our society that a prominent black minister
could not accept an umbrella from a white man without persons taking offense. It’s
just as sad to me that a KKK speaker was unwilling to step down to accept the offer of water
from a black man.
I
look forward optimistically to the day when true unity and fairness exist, a
time such as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of in his acclaimed “I
Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. He stated, as I quote from NPR’s website
[4] though numerous other
websites contain the quote: “I have a dream that my four little children will
one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of their character." I’ll close by adding “Amen” to
that King quote.
NOTE:
I
am not affiliated with either the Rainbow Coalition or the KKK.
ENDNOTES:
[1]
Santisteban, Ray; “The First Rainbow Coalition”;
PBS.org; premiered January 27, 2020;
webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-first-rainbow-coalition/
[2] Pruitt, Sarah; “How Jesse Jackon’s Rainbow Coalition Championed Diversity”; History.com; published January 29, 2021, and last updated May 28, 2025; webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.history.com/articles/jesse-jackson-rainbow-coalition
