Jesse Jackson is a leader and a teacher who can open our hearts

Ann Richards once declared: “Jesse Jackson is a leader and a teacher who can open our hearts and open our minds and stir our very souls.” These words resound not merely as praise for one man, but as a timeless testament to what true leadership and teaching must be. For a leader who cannot move the heart is but a manager of tasks, and a teacher who cannot awaken the soul is but a distributor of facts. Richards, herself a governor and a woman of sharp vision, recognized in Jackson the rare union of the two roles: the voice that guides, and the hand that instructs, both anchored in the stirring of human spirit.

The origin of this truth lies in the struggles of Jackson’s own life and the broader movement for justice in which he rose. A disciple of Martin Luther King Jr., he learned that leadership is not domination but inspiration. To lead is to speak words that heal divisions, to point to a higher horizon, and to invite the weary to keep marching. To teach is not to fill the mind with data, but to kindle a flame of understanding that lights both intellect and conscience. Thus, when Richards described Jackson, she was naming a deeper archetype: the leader-teacher, the one who both guides the steps and shapes the souls of the people.

History is filled with those who bore this double mantle. Moses was both leader of the Israelites and teacher of the Law. Confucius guided not by armies but by instruction, opening minds to harmony and virtue. Even in modern times, figures like Nelson Mandela carried the same flame, reminding us that the most enduring power does not lie in force of arms but in the ability to touch hearts and lift souls. Ann Richards, with her sharp wisdom, saw this thread of history woven into Jackson’s life, and she named it plainly.

To “open our hearts” is to awaken compassion. A leader who cannot do this cannot unite, for the divisions of people are healed only when hearts are softened. To “open our minds” is to ignite thought, to give clarity in confusion, to show that the world can be otherwise than it is. To “stir our souls” is the highest calling of all—for when the soul is stirred, men and women rise from passivity to action, from despair to hope, from silence to song. This is what Richards saw in Jackson, and what all great leaders and teachers share.

One need only recall Jackson’s speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, where he proclaimed the “Rainbow Coalition.” He spoke to the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten, reminding them that they had a place at the table of democracy. Those words were not mere political rhetoric; they were teaching, they were leadership, they were the stirring of souls. Many who heard him felt lifted beyond themselves, reminded that dignity was theirs by right. This is the living embodiment of Richards’ praise.

The lesson is clear: leadership without teaching is hollow, and teaching without leadership is powerless. We must seek those who, like Jackson, bring both. And within ourselves, we must strive to cultivate the same union: the courage to guide others, and the humility to instruct with love. For every parent, every citizen, every friend can in their own way be a leader and a teacher, opening hearts, minds, and souls.

Practically, this means living intentionally. Speak words that uplift rather than diminish. Share knowledge not to boast, but to empower. When you lead, do so not through command, but through inspiration. When you teach, do so not through cold instruction, but through the warmth of compassion. In this way, each of us can carry forward the wisdom Ann Richards saw in Jesse Jackson.

Thus, her words endure as both tribute and teaching: “Jesse Jackson is a leader and a teacher who can open our hearts and open our minds and stir our very souls.” May they remind us of the kind of voices we must follow, and the kind of voices we ourselves must become. For the world does not hunger for power alone—it hungers for leaders who teach, and teachers who lead, stirring the depths of the human spirit toward light.