This biography for younger readers follows the life and career of Jesse Jackson, the African American civil rights worker who has twice sought a presidential nomination and continues to work for equal rights for all Americans. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States and describes Jackson's role as clergyman, political contender, and advocate for poor, homeless, and uneducated people. Highlights in the life of Jesse Jackson include the following: (1) education at the University of Illinois, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, and the Chicago Theological Seminary; (2) leadership with Martin Luther King, Jr., of a march in Chicago from Soldiers Field to City Hall in 1966; (3) selection by King to head Operation Breadbasket in Chicago; (4) organization of the first Black Expo; (5) organization of People United to Serve Humanity (PUSH); (6) leadership of a 1974 march on Washington demanding jobs for the poor; (7) a bid for the Democratic party's nomination for president of the United States in 1983-84; and (8) a second bid for the Democratic party's nomination for president in 1987-88. The book includes a civil rights movement time line, a timetable of events in Jackson's life, suggested reading, and a list of 52 references. (AF)