Operation PUSH

Operation PUSH Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) was a prominent Chicago-based civil rights organization founded in 1971 by Reverend Jesse Jackson. Emerging from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and its Operation Breadbasket program, PUSH shifted the movement's focus toward economic empowerment and corporate accountability for African Americans. It became a major force in advocating for social justice, voter registration, and fair business practices, significantly influencing the direction of the Civil rights movement in the 1970s and beyond.

Founding and Background

Operation PUSH was officially launched on December 25, 1971, by Jesse Jackson following his departure from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Jackson had previously served as the national director of the SCLC's Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, a program focused on leveraging economic boycotts to secure jobs and contracts for Black communities from major corporations. Internal disagreements with SCLC leadership, particularly Ralph Abernathy, over strategy and autonomy led Jackson to establish an independent organization. The founding of PUSH represented a strategic evolution, moving beyond the desegregation and voting rights battles of the 1960s to address systemic economic inequality and build Black economic power in the post–civil rights era.

Goals and Philosophy

The core philosophy of Operation PUSH was encapsulated in its motto, "I am somebody," which emphasized self-worth and collective agency. Its primary goals were to achieve economic justice through direct negotiations and boycotts targeting specific corporations, to increase political participation through voter registration drives, and to foster educational opportunity. PUSH operated on the belief that civil rights were inextricably linked to economic rights. The organization advocated for "corporate responsibility," demanding that companies doing business in Black communities provide fair employment, award contracts to Black-owned businesses, and advertise in Black media. This approach, often called "selective patronage," was a hallmark of its strategy.

Major Campaigns and Initiatives

Operation PUSH orchestrated several high-profile campaigns against major corporations to secure equal employment agreements. A landmark campaign targeted the Coca-Cola Company, resulting in a 1971 agreement that increased Black employment and provided millions in loans for Black entrepreneurs. Similar "covenants" were negotiated with General Motors, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Beyond boycotts, PUSH organized weekly Saturday morning forums at its headquarters, which became a national platform for political discourse. It also launched "PUSH for Excellence" (PUSH-Excel), an educational program aimed at keeping students in school and promoting academic achievement, which received federal funding during the Jimmy Carter administration.

Leadership and Key Figures

Jesse Jackson was the charismatic founder, president, and driving force behind Operation PUSH, becoming one of the most recognizable civil rights leaders of the era. Other key figures included Willie T. Barrow, who served as Co-Chair and later Chair of the board, providing crucial organizational leadership. Calvin O. Butts, a young minister, worked as the organization's East Coast director. The board included prominent Black business leaders and community activists. Jackson's leadership style, which combined grassroots mobilization with media-savvy corporate negotiations, defined PUSH's public identity and operational effectiveness.

Relationship to the Broader Civil Rights Movement

Operation PUSH represented a distinct, post-Martin Luther King Jr. phase of the Civil rights movement, focusing on economic parity in the North and West rather than the legal segregation of the South. While it maintained the Christian ministerial leadership and nonviolent protest tradition of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, its tactics were more directly economic than those of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. PUSH's work complemented the efforts of other groups like the National Urban League, which also emphasized economic development. Its existence highlighted the movement's diversification and adaptation to new challenges following the legislative victories of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Legacy and Later Developments

The legacy of Operation PUSH is profound, cementing economic boycotts and corporate negotiations as standard tools for civil rights advocacy. In 1984, Jesse Jackson merged PUSH with the structures of his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. This new entity broadened its scope to become a multi-issue, multiracial organization advocating for progressive causes, including workers' rights and international affairs. The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, headquartered in Chicago with an office in Washington, D.C., continues to operate, maintaining the original PUSH's focus on economic justice and voter engagement while expanding its coalition. The organization's history remains a critical chapter in the evolution of African-American political and economic strategy.