“He Truly Meant It”: How Jesse Jackson Made International Solidarity Personal

I moved to Washington, D.C. in 1984 from my small but wonderful hometown of Niagara Falls, New York, a newly minted lawyer full of energy and belief that meaningful change was possible. I had just been hired by the American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee (ADC), a young but essential civil rights organization founded by former U.S. Senator James Abourezk. At the time, that opportunity alone felt life‑changing.