I woke up this morning with the news that Jesse Jackson had passed away.  He had been ill for almost ten years with what was originally diagnosed as Parkinson’s Disease, but later described as a different and rarer neurodegenerative disease. His last decade was pretty rough.

I liked Jesse Jackson and felt sorry for him when he became, in my opinion, one of the first victims of a social media disinformation campaign. As an activist civil rights leader, Jackson obviously attracted a significant number of enemies. His enemies, today, would of course largely be supporters of Donald Trump, although President Trump issued a surprisingly warm and accurate message of condolence today.

Forty-two years ago, in a conversation with a Washington Post reporter, Jackson referred to Jews in New York as Hymies, as New York City as Hymietown. When added to some previous incidents where Jackson expressed some solidarity with occupied Palestinians, this was enough to create a strong reaction from much of the Jewish community. Jackson apologized for his use of the term (which may or may not have been purposely disparaging), but the damage was done. He could never live it down.

For about a decade, in the 1980s and early 1990s, I spent a fair amount of time representing a Southern California organization which was heavily involved with the acquisition, renovation, and management of affordable housing properties across the country. Virtually everyone involved in the company was Jewish. Bring together the officers, directors, lawyers and accountants, and you would easily have a minyan. Even if a bunch of the invitees were absent. Jesse Jackson acted as an informal advisor to the company, and, yes, some of the principals gave him financial support for his political and social  endeavors. Their relationship was close.

One of the properties redeveloped by my clients was a large (50 building, 575 unit), federally subsidized, garden apartment community in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which had quite a checkered history and reputation. It was conveniently located just at an entrance to the Washington Beltway. This made it convenient not only for the residents, but for drug dealers who liked to hang out in the parking areas. Ending the location as a drug market, as well as rehabilitating the basically attractive apartments, was my clients’ focus.

It was a lengthy process, especially, as I remember, because the attempt was to kerp residents in place, so as to avoid as much disruption as possible. When the work was finally completed, there was a celebration, primarily for the residents (who included a large number of children), with food, a moon bounce or two, balloons, and…..Jesse Jackson.

Jackson actually arrived via a helicopter. You can imagine the excitement, the adults excited by Jackson, the children by the helicopter.

Jackson was warm, friendly, and engaging. His speech was memorable. I recall 40 plus years later that he talked about the renovation work, and how nice everything looked. But then he put the responsibility on the residents, probably all African-American. He told them, very matter-of-factly, that a family can turn a palace into a slum, just as they can live in a slum and make it a palace.

Again, as I recall, my clients held on to the property for a number of years. 10? 15? They kept it well maintained and then sold it. Affordable housing can be a tough business. The property did not do well under new ownership. The old problems returned. Eventually, HUD foreclosed on its mortgage and the entire property was  demolished in 2014.

From my one brief connection with Jesse Jackson, and hearing about him over the years from my client, I became convinced that he was falsely deemed antisemitic, but that the charge once made could never be fully erased. I am far from alone thinking this.

May his memory be a blessing.