Operation PUSH

Rainbow/PUSH

The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks on a radio broadcast from the headquarters of Operation PUSH, at its annual convention, July 1973. Photograph by John H. White.
Formation	1971
Type	Civil rights
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Location	United States
Official language	English
President	Jesse Jackson
Website	www.rainbowpush.org

Rainbow/PUSH is a non-profit organization formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations founded by Jesse Jackson — Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism.

In December 1971, Jackson resigned from Operation Breadbasket after clashing with Rev. Ralph Abernathy and founded Operation PUSH. Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984 which merged with PUSH in 1996. The combined organization keeps its national headquarters on the South Side of Chicago and has branches in Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, the Silicon Valley, and New Orleans and Boston.

Operation PUSH was successful at raising public awareness to initiate corporate action and government sponsorship. The National Rainbow coalition became a prominent political organization that raised public awareness on numerous political issues and consolidated a large voting block. The merged entity has undertaken numerous social initiatives.

Operation PUSH, an acronym for People United to Save (later Serve) Humanity, was an organization which advocated black self-help and achieved a broad audience for its liberal stances on issues of social justice and civil rights.