INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Rev. Jesse Jackson’s signature “I am somebody” call-and-response was a feature of many speeches by the civil rights icon, who died Tuesday morning at age 84. Jackson, surrounded by family, passed away following a long illness similar to Parkinson’s disease.

The Rev. Jackson was one of the top leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States in the decades following the assassination of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. André Carson, a Democrat who represents Indiana’s 7th District, joined Daybreak to reflect on Rev. Jackson’s life and legacy.

“Today, we mourn the civil rights icon. I also mourn a mentor and really an inspiration. Rev. Jackson had a vision for a ‘Rainbow Coalition,’ the idea that people from different backgrounds could be united in the fight for social justice. It was the idea that we could transform our country, and everyone had to be included. We’re in a time where some politicians use diversity as a dirty word or a bad word. But I think diversity is our strength. Diversity actually makes us better in every way. And Rev. Jackson really changed our nation’s landscape.”

Jackson was a close associate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was present when King was assassinated in 1968. He was widely recognized for his “Rainbow Coalition,” a concept focused on uniting people from different racial and social backgrounds to fight for equality. This vision laid the groundwork for future political movements and inspired a generation of leaders, Carson says.

“Before the great President Obama, there was Jesse Jackson and that imagery. He had an influence on me, as did Muhammad Ali with his rhyming style, which I still utilize today. I was very inspired by his movement as a kid. It inspired so many of us, even President Obama.”

Carson says the fight for equality is not over.

“You know, he often repeated the idea that everyone is somebody. He said, ‘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.’ He fought to recognize the common humanity in every person. And that’s how we’ll be honoring him this morning,” Carson said.

One of Jackson’s signature phrases was “keep hope alive.” He repeated it so often that some began to parody it, but it never seemed to lose meaning for him, Carson says. The reverend was a force for social justice in three eras: the Jim Crow period, the Civil Rights Era, and the post-Civil Rights era, culminating in the election of President Barack Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Congressman Carson’s Grandmother, the late U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, appeared alongside Rev. Jackson in 1984 in Indianapolis when he was running for president and she was in the State Senate. Carson reflected on the moment.

“It was a movement. I think it was a movement of, ‘Here is an African-American man who was attempting to run for the highest office in the land, some would argue, on the planet.’ And I think the imagery of a Black man running for president did a lot to the psychology of our country and, importantly, the psychology of young black men and women and men and women of color.”

Carson emphasized the importance of Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition.

“There were white brothers and sisters who helped him, Jewish brothers and sisters who helped him, South Asian, African, European, Arab, East Asian. It was truly a Rainbow Coalition, and it sowed the seeds for what we are really benefiting from today.”

Carson says he was 9 or 10 years old when he went with his grandmother to a Jesse Jackson campaign event. The event was held in the basement of the church of Indianapolis civil rights leader Dr. Andrew J. Brown and his son, Tommy Brown.

“Rev. Jackson was very lively in his language, and I was shocked. I sat in the corner…and I think he noticed–because I was the only kid in the room–how shocked I was at this exchange between these local leaders, and some words that were used, but I think he got a thrill out of it because he stared at me and his language was livelier.”

Carson also noted Jackson’s personal ties to the Midwest and his family connections. He stated that Jackson’s sons had recently mentioned their relation to the famous Jackson family of Gary, Indiana, noting that the late Michael Jackson was a cousin.

“That’s great Midwestern history that often gets overlooked. Rev. Jackson did so much; I hope history is kind to him because he deserves it. He sowed the seeds for what we’re benefiting from today. We wouldn’t have President Obama without Jesse Jackson, and many of us wouldn’t be here with this idea that we could serve in some kind of way, with the help of brothers and sisters from across the human family, without the seeds that were sown by Rev. Jackson,” Carson said.

Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and their five children, Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, and Jacqueline. He is also survived by a sixth child, Ashley.