Jesse Jackson Went to Cuba in 1984. His Son Returned With the Same Message
May 14, 2026
At a time when the U.S. government’s economic war on Cuba is intensifying, U.S. lawmakers Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Havana in early April.
At the Martin Luther King Center, Jackson paid tribute to his father, Jesse Jackson, recalling his historic 1984 visit to the island, when he met with Fidel Castro and helped usher in a rare moment of dialogue between Cuba and the African American community.
Jackson spoke of a generation of people in the United States shaped by the country’s continuous wars, and called for a different path forward — one rooted in dialogue, mutual respect, and human connection. “It’s my prayer that the historical and political differences that divide us would not be used to deny our children the kind of future they deserve,” said Jackson.
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“I stand today before you as a friend, not as an enemy, and as a brother, and not a bully who presumes the prerogative to condemn something he does not have the right to condone,” said Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL).
Members of Congress Jonathan Jackson and Pramila Jayapal in April visited the Martin Luther King Center in Havana
A mass was held in honor of Jackson’s father, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson
“My father, Reverend Jackson, came to Cuba. It was in June of 1984,” Jackson recalled.
“My father actually took President Castro to church for the first time in 27 years,” he explained. “And as a result, there’s been ongoing dialogue between the people of Cuba and the African American community. And I stand before you today to declare that that dialogue is still very much alive.”
“Their visit comes at a moment of intensifying economic warfare waged by the United States against Cuba,” the report states.
“There is an entire generation of young Americans that are growing up that have only known violence and destruction,” Jackson said. “My youngest son is now 24 years of age, and I am sad to say that the United States of America has been at war every day of my child’s life.”
“And while I wish our respective governments can find a way to look past their differences in order to secure a better life for the people of our respective nations,” he continued.
“It is my prayer that we would learn how to live together in harmony, and that we would learn to disagree without being disagreeable,” Jackson stated. “That we would learn to become better neighbors and better human beings, and that the historical and political differences that divide us would not be used to deny our children the kind of future they deserve.”
“And that a Cuban life is just as important as an American life,” he declared.
“Let’s pray,” Jackson said.
“I know you are living in difficult times, and I know that the past few months have not been easy in Cuba or in the United States, but I still believe that anything that can be loved can be saved,” he added.
“And in closing, I say to you what my father always said: Keep hope alive,” Jackson concluded.
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