Earlier this year I was privileged to meet Rev. Jesse Jackson, during his visit to London.

In 1984 Rev. Jackson became the second Black person to run for President of the United States and he also ran in 1988. Although he wasn’t successful in securing the Democratic parties nomination on either occasion, he did win more than 15 primaries in total and broke down barriers for minorities around the world.  

During his visit Rev. Jackson shared his experiences of grassroots campaigning in America with myself and a small group of members from Enfield Southgate. I was particularly interested to get his take on the current state of US politics and also his views on how to win support from all sections of society during elections.