A former Corpus Christi television reporter is reflecting on his memorable encounter with Reverend Jesse Jackson after the civil rights leader's death was announced.
Dave Johnson, a former KZTV reporter, shared video from his 1988 interview with Jackson when the reverend visited Corpus Christi during his presidential campaign. Jackson stopped by the Bayfront Convention Center, now known as the Hilliard Center, before the Super Tuesday primary to gather support from local Democrats for his presidential run.
Johnson, who had just left the Marine Corps and was a new reporter in town, said his news director Walter Furley assigned him to interview the presidential candidate. He remembers being nervous when he saw Jackson but took a deep breath and went for it.
He asked Reverend Jackson if he was going into the Super Tuesday Primary confident.
"Well, I'm more convinced than ever that the real focus on Super Tuesday must be a worker's bill of rights," Jackson said. "I just left the valley where I saw people working without toilets in the bathroom in the field, where minimum wage standards are not being protected or where certain health laws are not being adequately enforced. We must revive a commitment to a war on poverty, and if we do, we must survive our commitment."
Johnson reflected on Jackson's historic campaign and character.
"I believe he was the first African American to run for president," Johnson said. "And I remember back in the day he was catching some flack for that and so you got to stand up for the guy. I mean, the guy has his thoughts, his morals. The world lost a good person today. He was down to earth and he believed he, he walked the walk. He did what he said he was going to do."
Johnson, who interviewed several high-profile figures during his career, said interviewing Jackson is a moment he will never forget.
Jackson visited the Coastal Bend several times in the late 1970s and 1980s during his activism and political career.
WATCH REV. JACKSON'S INTERVIEW WITH FORMER KZTV REPORTER DAVE JOHNSON DURING HIS 1988 VISIT TO CORPUS CHRISTI
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