The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has paid solemn and heartfelt tribute to Jesse Jackson Sr., who passed away on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, hailing him as an icon of workers’ rights and social justice whose life and work helped to bend the arc of history toward equality.
In a statement issued on February 18, 2026, and signed by General Secretary Lincoln Lewis, the GTUC described Reverend Jackson as “an American and global civil rights icon whose voice, courage, and conviction helped to bend the arc of history toward justice.”
The Congress said he “was more than a leader of the American civil rights movement. He was a champion of working people everywhere, a fearless advocate for the rights of coloured people in a world cruelly divided by race, and an unrelenting defender of the working class against systems of inequality and oppression.”
According to the GTUC, Jackson’s influence extended beyond the borders of the United States, touching decolonisation and independence struggles in the West Indies and other parts of the world. “His moral clarity and organising genius left an indelible mark on the global labour movement,” the statement said.
The GTUC also recalled his solidarity with workers during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis. “GTUC recalls with reverence his solidarity with workers and his presence in Memphis on April 4, 1968, standing beside Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the sanitation workers’ strike for dignity, fair wages, and improved working conditions,” the statement said, referencing Martin Luther King Jr..
It continued: “When Dr. King was struck down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, Reverend Jackson was at his right side. That tragic moment forever linked him to one of history’s most painful turning points and strengthened his resolve to continue the struggle.”
The Congress stated that “every Guyanese, without exception of colour or race, and indeed all peoples of formerly colonised societies, owe a profound debt of gratitude to this honourable son of humanity.” It noted that during a period when the Western world was “rigidly binary, when one was deemed either white or coloured, the struggle he helped to lead transformed laws, institutions, and hearts.”
“Though primarily led by African Americans, the victories of that movement uplifted all races, including white communities, because justice, once expanded, cannot be confined. It affirmed the principle that individuals must be judged by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin,” the statement said.
For his “outstanding contribution to humanity,” the GTUC said it takes comfort in the words of 2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV): “He fought a good fight, he finished his course, he kept the faith.”
The Congress urged that the tribute not end with remembrance alone. “We, the inheritors of his struggle and legacy, are duty bound to preserve and build upon his achievements. Freedom is never self-sustaining; it demands eternal vigilance, sacrifice, and collective action. The most fitting honour we can render Reverend Jesse Jackson is to continue the march toward equity, dignity, and justice for all workers and all people.”
The statement concluded: “May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may his example forever inspire the labour movement in Guyana and throughout the world.”
