Judge Greg Mathis is honoring the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, reflecting on the profound impact Jackson had as both a mentor and a “father figure” throughout his life and career.
Mathis has been in mourning since Jackson’s death on Feb. 17 at age 84, choosing to reflect on their decades-long bond that began in the late 1970s when the civil rights leader visited a Detroit county jail where a teenage Mathis was incarcerated after being tried as an adult on a gun possession charge.
“There would really be no Judge Mathis 27 years on television without a Rev. Jesse Jackson. That’s for sure,” Mathis told theGrio. “He was a father figure…the most influential person, male in my life, in that I didn’t have a father.”
“I had been a street youth in Detroit, in and out of juvenile,” the TV judge shared. “While there in the county jail awaiting sentencing, [Jackson] came and gave his ‘I am somebody’ roaring speeches.”
Mathis said that when he first met Jackson, he already had a strong sense of Black consciousness, shaped by brothers tied to the Black Panther movement, but acknowledged he knew little then about Jackson, a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or his commitment to civil disobedience.
“We really didn’t embrace Martin Luther King…It was about Huey Newton and Malcolm X, and so when I heard him, I was captivated,” Mathis said. “I said, ‘I want to help you fight white people.’ I didn’t know how to ask. I meant I want to help you fight for social justice.”
The Judge Mathis star credits Jackson with changing the course of his life, recalling how the reverend urged him to “drop your gun and pick up your books,” and promising to hire him if he pursued college after his release. Mathis took Jackson’s word and went on to attend Eastern Michigan University, where he became a campus activist and grew interested in politics and public service.
After graduation, Mathis later volunteered on Jackson’s 1984 presidential campaign, eventually leading the Michigan effort, and credits Jackson with helping shape his political path, including his eventual election as a Wayne County district judge.
While Jackson made history with back-to-back presidential runs and his leadership of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Mathis also emphasized the Civil Rights icon’s commitment to strengthening Black economic empowerment.
“He assisted over 200 Black franchisors in Burger King and McDonald’s [and] bout 40 or so car dealerships. Black folks getting into ownership, thousands of Black products, suppliers, helping
them get their products on the shelves,” the Court TV star said. “It’s that economic leverage that we need to return to that Reverend Jackson used so well to get Black contracting, Black hiring, and other economic opportunity.”Mathis also credits Jackson with helping reshape the Democratic Party’s power structure, moving it toward a more democratic delegate system that later paved the way for leaders like Barack Obama. He also recalled Jackson’s lasting wisdom during the COVID-19 era, when the Civil Rights icon told him rising crime among Black youth reflected “lawlessness at the top,” arguing that political leadership influences how young people view accountability.
When discussing Donald Trump’s role in promoting false claims about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mathis said Jackson offered him a clear and defining perspective on the moment.
“How can you tell these impoverished Black street youth not to go in and steal a bag or a watch out of a store when they saw the president order 10,000 people to try and overthrow Congress? Y’all think they’re not looking. Those young folks are looking,” Mathis said.“That’s the wisdom he gave me. I’ve been trying to figure it out for 6 months. He gave it to me in 60 seconds,” he added.
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