Investigative Journalist Greg Palast talks to Rick Smith.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon and two-time presidential candidate, passed away on February 17, 2026, at age 84, surrounded by family. On The Rick Smith Show, host Rick Smith welcomed longtime friend and investigative journalist Greg Palast for an emotional tribute. Palast, a New York Times bestselling author known for exposing voter suppression, shared intimate stories from their five-decade alliance forged at a United Auto Workers event.

Palast recalled their first meeting 50 years ago, both young activists championing labor’s role in progressive change. “He always called me ‘young man,’ even when I was 73,” Palast said, noting Jackson’s insistence on early morning calls despite Parkinson’s, which limited his speech after 2 p.m. Just last week in Chicago, Palast planned to meet Jackson for 2026 voting rights strategies, sensing it was “end game” but committed to the fight.

Jackson commanded action, summoning Palast from Europe for his film Vigilantes Inc.: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen premiere at the 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Wheelchair bound but defiant, Jackson stayed through the screening and Q&A, pounding his armrest when aides tried to leave. They cowrote an op-ed on vote suppression and even collaborated on the bestselling comic Steal Back Your Vote, available free at GregPalast.com.

Palast highlighted Jackson’s labor ties post-Martin Luther King Jr., walking picket lines and allying with unions against corporate thieves like Chicago’s utilities. He praised Jackson’s “rainbow coalition” empathy for the underclass, Black, white, poor, seeing race as a class marker exploited by billionaires. Their work smashed programs like Interstate Crosscheck, with Rainbow/PUSH continuing under leaders like attorney C.K. Hoffler and daughter Santita Jackson.

Palast rejected portraying Jackson as “extraordinary.” From humble Greenville, South Carolina roots, Jackson was “an ordinary guy” who volunteered with King in Chicago’s economic justice push and refused to stop. He dismissed critics like Elizabeth Warren who overlooked him, emphasizing his role in history like the Selma bridge marches, stories even young staff need to hear.

“Is he replaceable?” Smith asked. Palast urged, “You are the leader.” Jackson’s marching orders? March yourself, don’t wait for icons. His cussedness lives in ongoing fights against vigilante vote challenges targeting voters of color. As Palast kissed Jackson’s forehead at that final screening, feeling goodbye, the message endures. Battles don’t end, carry them on.

Watch the Rainbow PUSH edition of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy featuring Reverend Jackson. Get the DVD, download, or stream it for free. Learn more at GregPalast.com.

For 50 years, the Reverend and I fought side-by-side, and sometimes fought face-to-face. He's the only man, other than my dad, I've ever kissed, a year ago, when I kissed him goodbye.

Remembering Reverend Jesse Jackson (1941-2026): Investigative journalist Greg Palast talks to WCPT’s Joan Esposito.

You are watching the theft of 2026 before your eyes. The FBI raid on Fulton County is NOT, as the media seems to think, about Trump’s attempt to prove he won the 2020 race.

The warrant says the FBI wants the envelopes from the 2020 election to hunt for crimes. But that’s just the legal excuse for the storm trooping.

This is all about 2026 and 2028. Look at a map. Fulton County is the heart of “Blacklanta.” And Atlanta is the electoral heart of Georgia. And Georgia is the swingiest of swing states.

The game is to force a state (i.e. Republican) takeover of Fulton County voting (possible under SB 202).

And you can’t separate the invasion of Atlanta voting offices from the Purge’n General Bondi’s demand that Minnesota hand over its voter rolls.

Get the full story. Read my latest Substack report, The real story of the FBI raid on Fulton County: https://gregpalastinvestigates.substack.com/p/the-real-story-of-the-fbi-raid-on

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