In 1972, Jesse Jackson Joined ‘Sesame Street’ to Share a Message: ‘I Am Somebody’

Dan Lambert | February 17, 2026, 3:36 pm

A simple message with big meaning: "I am somebody." We are grateful to Rev. Jesse Jackson for helping teach generations of children to believe in themselves and in one another. Thank you for being part of our neighborhood. 💛💚 pic.twitter.com/a7vWqUGOsh

— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) February 17, 2026

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, an icon on the Civil Rights movement and a national political force, died Tuesday at age 84.

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Before his two presidential runs and the founding of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Jackson appeared on “Sesame Street” in 1972 with a simple message to share with children: “I am somebody.”

Sitting on the show's stoop surrounded by children, he engaged them in a call-and-repeat recitation of his uplifting message.

“I am somebody. I am somebody. I may be poor, but I am somebody. I may be young, but I am somebody. I may be on welfare, but I am somebody. I may be small, but I am somebody. I may make a mistake, but I am somebody. My clothes are different, my face is different, my hair is different, but I am somebody. I am Black, Brown, White, I speak a different language, but I must be respected, protected, never rejected. I am God's child. I am somebody.”

As the New York Times chief TV critic James Poniewozik describes the moment, “The message of Jackson’s litany is the beginning of education, and the beginning of democracy. It says that you have worth as a person, simply because you are a person. It says that you have a voice. And it says that your voice is most powerful when it joins with other voices.”