The Crazy Real-Life Story Of Jesse Jackson

Publish date: 2024-05-06

Jesse Jackson made many sacrifices and took his activism to a new level by negotiating hostage releases in foreign countries. According to USA TODAY, Navy Lt. Robert Goodman had taken hostage by Syria after his plane was shot down while flying over Lebanon. The Reagan administration was skeptical but Jackson and his delegation of ministers were confident they could bring Goodman home. So, Jesse Jackson and the delegation traveled to the Middle East to begin negotiations. On January 4, 1984, after spending a month in captivity, Goodman was freed by the help of Jackson.

In 1990, Jackson negotiated the release of 24 women, 12 children, and 11 men who were held captive or hiding in Iraq and Kuwait following Iraq's August 2nd invasion of Kuwait, the Chicago Tribune reported. Jackson was able to persuade former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to lessen bureaucratic restrictions that could have prevented the promised release of the hostages.

Jesse Jackson's diplomatic efforts continued when, in 1999, he negotiated yet another release of three soldiers who had been held captive for over a month in Yugoslavia, per the New York Times. When senior Clinton administration officials asked Jackson not to go, the determined civil rights leader showed defiance and stayed true to his mission. After negotiations, Jackson was able to make the seemingly impossible happen when he convinced President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia to let the men go free.

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