Jesse Jackson’s daughter reveals she has converted to Judaism

Jesse Jackson’s daughter has revealed that she has converted to Judaism, describing how the late civil rights leader supported her decision and even joined her at a synagogue before his death.

Writing in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Ashley L. Jackson said she completed her conversion on 12 June after what she described as a years-long spiritual journey shaped by study, illness and a growing connection to Jewish life.

Jackson, a writer, producer and founder of the nonprofit Push The Next Generation, said her father attended a Shabbat service at her synagogue two years before he died, where he joined in the celebration despite coming from a Baptist Christian background.

She wrote: “As the Saturday morning service proceeded, my father sat in the front row – holding my hand, dancing to prayers in a language he did not speak, eating the Sunkist candies the congregation had tossed to celebrate a bar mitzvah.”

Reflecting on her decision to become Jewish, Jackson said she had found a faith that matched the values she had been raised with.

“I was raised to believe that faith must lead to action,” she wrote. “In Judaism, I found an enduring expression of this belief.”

She said she had long been struck by Judaism’s emphasis on learning, ritual and the concept of Tikkun olam – repairing the world – adding that the sound of the shofar during her first Rosh Hashanah moved her deeply.

Jackson also reflected on becoming both Black and Jewish, saying the identity carried both challenges and hope.

She wrote that “racism and antisemitism can surface in even the most intimate and familiar spaces”, but also described “the meeting of two diasporas” and the shared histories of Black and Jewish communities.

In the essay, Jackson argued that the long-standing relationship between African Americans and Jewish Americans had become increasingly strained in recent years, despite both communities sharing traditions rooted in the pursuit of justice and human dignity.

“About 1 percent of American Jews identify as Black,” she wrote. “Their experience – my experience – shows that the alienation between these two communities can be overcome.”

Jackson also recalled the emotional reception her father received when Rabbi Sharon Brous invited him forward for a blessing during his synagogue visit.

“Before she could speak, the congregation was already on its feet,” Jackson wrote. “My father – one of the most recognisable Baptist ministers in America – wept as the congregation offered him a spontaneous ovation.”

She revealed that after completing her conversion she chose the Hebrew name Miriam Yiskah, explaining that Yiskah was intended as “a feminine echo of Jesse”, honouring her father’s memory.

Concluding the essay, Jackson wrote that she hoped to continue building understanding between communities at a time of rising antisemitism and anti-Black racism.

“I feel as though I have been entrusted with a sacred charge,” she wrote. “Amid widespread concerns about antisemitism and anti-Blackness, it is necessary to recall that our differences do not preclude unity.”