ABSTRACT
The movement had come up against America's most powerful local machine and had lost. Black Americans looked to Rev Jackson as their national leader, the successor to Martin Luther King, Jr. In national polls Jackson was among the most admired public figures in America, respected by blacks and whites alike, one of the few blacks so honored. Having gained national prominence, from 1968 to 1971 Jackson dueled with Ralph Abernathy for the black leadership. While running Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, Jackson not only employed the selective boycott but introduced new strategies of his own design. On Christmas Day, 1971, Jackson held a ceremony to celebrate the founding of PUSH. Operation PUSH was to be a "civil economics" organization, goal of which was to secure jobs, organize those not making a livable wage, and support the growth of black-owned businesses. Jackson called himself "The Country Preacher," and an important source of his influence was the Saturday morning rally of Operation PUSH.
