By Claudette Perry
Co-Founder and Board Member, Diaspora African Forum Diplomatic Mission
Accra, Ghana— “Reverend Jackson’s legacy, his spirit, belonged to the world,” said Kofi Okyere Darko, Director of the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President, during a ceremony honoring the life of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. The tribute was arranged by the Diaspora African Forum Diplomatic Mission (DAF), the only diaspora diplomatic mission of its kind in the world. DAF was founded in 2007 by Ambassador Erieka Bennett, with Reverend Jesse Jackson among the co-founders.
Jackson was a frequent visitor to Accra and had met every Ghanaian president since Jerry John Rawlings (president, 1979–2001). His ties to the continent deepened in 2007, when the DAF mission opened in conjunction with the African Union’s annual summit, a landmark gathering at which African diaspora representatives were invited for the very first time to sit on the summit floor to observe the proceedings with continental African regional representatives. Reverend Jackson was then invited into a private session with the Heads of State, an honor without precedent in the history of the African Union. The delegation that accompanied him included DAF cofounder and board member Claudette Perry, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rabbi Nathaniel Kohain, jazz musician Herbie Hancock, Minister Akbar Muhammad, London fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, the late Dr. Al Munsour, and former Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party Dr. Bamanga Tukur of Nigeria.
In Reverend Jackson’s own words, the Black American struggle and the African struggle were one and the same. It was a conviction he lived by. Central to his mission (and to that of the DAF) was the work of building bridges between Africans on the continent and those of the diaspora. That work was never abstract. Reverend Jackson was a major force in the international campaign to end apartheid in South Africa, garnering support from the presidents of eight neighboring nations that had won their own independence from colonial rule. He pressed the Reagan administration to impose economic sanctions on the South African government and stood before South African crowds in the wake of Stephen Biko’s murder. From Russia to the Middle East, there were moments when Reverend Jackson appeared to be the only figure capable of opening a door, including negotiating the release of Americans held captive abroad.
News of his passing reverberated around the world. In keeping with Ghanaian custom, the Head of the DAF Mission assembled a delegation to formally call on the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President and announce the death of Reverend Jackson, a man Ghana had long claimed as one of its own. The delegation was received by Deputy Director Nana Kyere Agyemang and Director Darko. Remarks were offered, photographs taken, and the ceremonial condolence book was signed by both officials. Once the President and Vice President have added their signatures and written their condolences, the book will be delivered to Mrs. Jackson, with whom the DAF remains in direct contact—a final, formal expression of a bond that stretched across decades and oceans.
By the end of the day, everyone’s heart was full. Ambassador Erieka Bennett, Head of Mission, reflected on what had been lost and what endures: “Reverend Jackson’s civil and human rights contributions to the world were endless. His name will always be associated with Hope, and Hope is still alive.”
Long live the voice of hope.
