Love Letter to Rev. Jesse Jackson – The Greatest Bridge Builder of All Times

By Mabel Teng. Posted February 18, 2026

Reverend Jackson,

We first met 32 years ago in Portsmouth Square, in the heart of Chinatown, it feels like another lifetime and yesterday all at once. It was 1984. You stood before a packed community rally during your Presidential campaign, and I had the profound honor of introducing you there, then again at the 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions, and San Francisco’s banquet honoring you in 2021.

SF Chinatown Portsmouth Square rally for Rev. Jackson, May 1984. From left to right: Pam Tau Lee, Ken Kong, Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, Mabel Teng, Eddie Wong, and Rev. Howard Gloyd. Photo courtesy of Unity Archives.

Across the decades, you never stopped building.

You built visibility where there was despair.

You built courage where there was fear.

You built bridges where there were barriers.

You built the possibility of a new world.

In 1982, America trembled. Ronald Reagan had been elected. Congress attacked family reunification, restricting immigration. Tax cuts favored the wealthy while affordable housing, food assistance, and social programs were slashed. Poverty deepened. Unemployment rose. Mental hospitals closed their doors, and veterans were left wandering our streets without care.

The auto industry struggled against global competition from Japan. And in that atmosphere of blame and fear, in June 1982, Vincent Chin was murdered. Two white men employed by the auto industry beat him with a baseball bat until Vincent couldn’t breathe.

For a violent murder of a young engineer who was days away from marrying his bride, the killers received a $3,000 fine and probation.  Justice did not arrive, it never did.

Reverend Jackson:  You heard our cry, our cry for dignity, our cry for justice.

You came to Cameron House in Chinatown to stand beside Lily Chin, Vincent’s mom. You made our grief visible to the nation.

Rev. Jesse Jackson converses with Mrs. Lily Chin at Cameron House in San Francisco Chinatown. Mabel Teng at microphone. May 1984. Photo courtesy of Unity Archives.

You told us about Emmett Till.

Emmett was a young 14-year-old Black man lynched in Mississippi after being falsely accused by a white woman. The jury deliberated for only thirty minutes. Adding salt to injuries, they said it would have been shorter had they not stopped for a cigarette and a soft drink.

The all-White jury could not imagine sending a white man to prison for killing a Black teenager.

Years later, the woman confessed she had lied. The assault never happened.

Reverend Jackson, you drew the painful parallel:

White supremacy could not imagine sending white men to prison for murdering Blacks 1955.

White supremacy could not imagine sending white men to prison for murdering Asians 1982.

Injustice was systemic.

Reverend Jackson, you embraced our struggle and told the story of Vincent Chin, the story of Japanese incarceration, redress and reparation, of LBGTQ rights to family farmers in Iowa, to paper workers in Maine, to urban workers, to Latino farmworkers in Watsonville, in churches after churches in Mississippi and in the deep South.

You stitched our separate wounds into a shared moral fabric. Together we built the Rainbow Coalition.

From Emmett Till to Vincent Chin.

From Michael Brown to George Floyd.

From Kenosha to Lafayette.

The story continues — and so does the movement.

Asian Americans for Jesse Jackson. NYC rally. 1984. Photo courtesy of Unity Archives.

Reverend Jackson:  You inspired a movement for root change, a forever unstoppable undercurrent of the ocean — Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, Lavender, White — farmers, workers, students, elders.

You lifted the voices of Indigenous peoples who first built Turtle Island.

Emmett Till awakened the Black freedom movement in the South.

Vincent Chin awakened the Asian American movement in America.

Reverend Jackson, you did not simply lead a movement. You shaped a generation.  You transformed this nation.

You helped the world reimagine itself.

It is the honor of my lifetime to have been mentored by you, journeyed with you.

Reverend Jackson: Rest in love.

Rev. Jesse Jackson with striking Watsonville Cannery workers on June 29, 1986. Photo courtesy of Unity Archives.

You are The Conscience of the Nation. The Greatest Unifier of the New World. We will keep hope alive and guide this divided world through this uncertain time.

With abiding gratitude and love,

Mabel Teng, February 17, 2026

Author’s bio: Mabel Teng was inspired to run for office after her work with Jesse Jackson, becoming the first-ever elected Asian American woman of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in a city–wide election in 1994. In a pioneering public service role, Mabel cultivated a broad network of political leaders and government officials. This network allowed her to leverage her years of grassroots leadership in the social justice movement, from organizing, advocacy to community building. Mabel’s public service in elected office spanned from 1990 – 2015 when she retired as the Assessor of the City and County of San Francisco. She parlayed her career in public office to return to Chinatown to support young leaders and serve the people.

Featured Image:

Rev. Jesse Jackson with Mabel Teng, Chairperson of SF Asian Americans for Jesse Jackson. SF Chinatown fundraiser May 1988. Photo courtesy of Unity Archives.