The 2023 Medal of Glory Award (MOGA), The Foundation for Democracy in Africa’s (FDA) highest honor, will be presented to Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., Founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Reverend Jackson is receiving the 2023 Medal of Glory Award for his lifelong extraordinary contributions towards: advancing civil and human rights and democracy in Africa and the passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by Congress.
Reverend Jesse Jackson, a civil and human rights icon, recently stepped down from the helm of one of the most successful and effective civil rights organizations in the United States.
Jesse Jackson, as he is popularly known, has been called the “Conscience of the Nation” and “the Great Unifier,” challenging America to be inclusive and establish just and humane priorities for the benefit of all. He is known for bringing people together on common grounds across lines of race, culture, class, gender, and belief.
Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jesse Jackson graduated from the public schools in Greenville and then enrolled in the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He later transferred to North Carolina A&T State University and graduated in 1964. He began his theological studies at Chicago Theological Seminary but deferred his studies when he started working full-time in the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Clay Evans ordained Jackson on June 30, 1968, and he earned his Master of Divinity Degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.
President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appointed Reverend Jackson as “Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa.” In this official position, Reverend Jackson traveled to several African countries and met with national leaders, such as President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa. On August 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Reverend Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Reverend Jackson married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963. They have five children: Santita Jackson, Former U.S. Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Congressman Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Esq., and Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Jr.
The Medal of Glory Award is The Foundation for Democracy in Africa’s (FDA) highest honor awarded annually to exemplary leaders for their extraordinary contributions to democracy, good governance, and advancing trade, investment, and cultural ties between the United States and Africa. Past recipients of the award, includes President Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi; Dr. Amadou Makhtar M’Bow, Director General of the United Nations, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1974 – 1987); Dr. Sarah E. Moten, USAID, Africa Bureau; President Mazire of Botswana; President Shehu Shagari of Nigeria; President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria; Senator Connie Mack of Florida; Dr. Dorothy Height, President of the National Council of Negro Women; Mr. C. Payne Lucas, President of Africare; President Abdou Diouf of Senegal; President Alpha Omar Konare of Mali; President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; Dennis C Moss, Commissioner, Miami-Dade County, Florida( retired); Mr. Ato Girma Wake, Ethiopian Airlines; Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation; the People of the Republic of Burkina Faso; Congresswoman Ileana Ros -Lehtinen of Florida; Mr. William Talbert III, President CDME, President, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (retired), Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina, President, the African Development Bank Group; Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Commissioner, Miami-Dade County (retired); Jean Monestine, Commissioner. Miami-Dade County (retired); Javier D. Souto, Commissioner, Miami-Dade County (retired) and Mrs. Evelyn Wynn (posthumously).
The Medal of Glory Awards will be bestowed during the 24th annual AfrICANDO U.S.-Africa Trade & Investment Conference Expo under the theme The Diaspora: Accelerating U.S.-Africa Trade, Investment, and Technological Innovation, slated for 25-27 October 2023 during the Awards Gala and Dinner on Friday 27, 2023 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Miami.
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa (FDA) is a development organization committed to promoting participatory democracy, economic growth, and sustainable development throughout Africa. Founded in 1994, FDA is a 501c 3, not-for-profit, nongovernmental, nonpartisan institution headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Miami, Florida, USA. FDA’s mission is to: (1) implement culturally sensitive programs designed to strengthen and enhance the fundamental principles of democracy, freedom, and economic plurality throughout Africa and (2) integrate emerging African democracies into the mainstream of the global economy, thus cultivating the pathway for peace and prosperity in Africa.
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