Reverend and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Saturday, despite having been endorsed by her opponent Bernie Sanders in his bid for the presidency in 1988. Jackson called Clinton “the most qualified and best hope” for the United States.
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Jackson announced the endorsement at the “Kids Off the Block” memorial in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, dedicated to children killed by gun violence.
“The issues that matter to us, civil rights, social justice… we can trust her on that,” Jackson said according to media reports. “She has a track record on that.”
His endorsement comes after months of refusing to endorse while calling both Clinton and Sanders “outstanding candidates”.
However, while Jackson toed the line of the establishment and chose Clinton for his endorsement, Sanders did the opposite of that when he crossed racial lines and went against the Democratic establishment's choice in 1988 and endorsed Jackson for president.
Sanders’ endorsement in 1988 helped Jackson secure the state of Vermont during the primaries.
Despite throwing his support behind Clinton, Jackson said that Sanders' struggle was far from over in terms of fighting for education and higher minimum wages while pushing against big banks.
“The campaign is over, but Bernie’s crusade is not over. His crusade to hold banks accountable is not over. His crusade to raise wages to $15 an hour, that will not go away; to make education more accessible, that will not go away.”
While Hillary become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sanders has vowed to stay in the race and participate in the party’s convention in July.