The theme that has dominated Jesse Jackson’s public life, running through all his speeches and published writings, is racial and social equality. Throughout his career, Jackson kept the pressure on: He challenged white America to recognize the civil and economic rights of the African American community. He also challenged African Americans to assert their rights and to look to their own development. In this way, he became one of the most prominent civil rights advocates of his generation, if not the most prominent. In “The Fight for Civil Rights Continues,” an article he wrote for Ebony magazine in 2005, Jackson summarizes the progress of the civil rights movement and suggests its future direction.