From Legacy.com Helen Burns Jackson, the mother of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, has died. She was 92. The Rev. Jesse Jackson told The Associated Press his mother died Monday morning in her longtime hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. She had been in failing health for some time, he said. 'She was an incredible woman blessed with a long life,' Jackson said. Jackson described his mother as a talented musician, active member of her church and big inspiration for much of his community activism. Born in 1923, Helen Burns Jackson 'lived under very trying circumstances, but she was so determined to make a contribution,' her son said. Jackson said his mother had two scholarships to attend college, but when she became pregnant with him, she chose not to go. She later became a cosmetologist. 'She helped a lot of people,' Jackson told The Greenville News a few days before she died. 'That's mostly what I remember about Mother is some people would call and say 'I need my hair to be dressed, but I don't have any money.' She would say, 'Come on anyhow.'' Jackson also recalled how his mother would help others who couldn't read or write fill out government paperwork. One year when they were too poor to buy Christmas gifts, he said, they came home from a pageant to find six bags of groceries on the porch. They learned later the groceries came from an illiterate World War I veteran whom Burns Jackson had once helped. Years later, Burns Jackson watched her son rise to fame as an activist, primarily from her South Carolina home. However, she appeared onstage when he addressed the Democratic National Convention in 1988. He lost the nomination that year to Michael Dukakis. Another son, Chuck Jackson, is a singer and songwriter. Burns Jackson also listened to her son's radio broadcasts from Chicago and never missed a TV appearance, Jackson told the newspaper. 'She took lots of joy in that,' he said. 'She always asked, 'Lord, what have I done to deserve this? What have I done to deserve this?'' From TheRoot by Deborah Douglas When the Rev. Jesse Jackson's mother gave birth to him as an unwed teen, "I guarantee you where she was going to church didn't look like this," said former President Bill Clinton in his signature, conversational style during homegoing services Monday for Helen Burns Jackson. Mrs. Jackson died Sept. 7 at age 91. Springfield Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., was filled with love, laughter and tears for the woman who gave the world the civil rights icon, twice presidential candidate and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, and his younger brother, Charles "Chuck" Jackson, a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter credited with launching Natalie Cole's legendary career. Mrs. Jackson's story could easily have stopped with her being a teen mom, but because she didn't treat life like a "dress rehearsal," noted Clinton, she was responsible for depositing great gifts to the world, namely, two accomplished sons. "Your mother was a national treasure," Clinton told the Rev. Jackson, his friend and longtime political ally from the pulpit of a church organized by former slaves, as about 500 onlookers cried, laughed and cheered as they heard heartfelt anecdotes about the woman affectionately known as "Mama Helen." "Your mother was a national treasure," Clinton told the Rev. Jackson, his friend and longtime political ally from the pulpit of a church organized by former slaves, as about 500 onlookers cried, laughed and cheered as they heard heartfelt anecdotes about the woman affectionately known as "Mama Helen." Tears flowed from the heartbroken Jackson brothers moments before they closed their mother's casket, where she lay dressed in pink, flanked by floral displays also featuring pink. Singer Kim Stratton captured the celebratory yet mournful mood with her signature rendition of "Jehovah Jireh." Later, Santita Jackson, the reverend's oldest daughter, recalled that sorrowful scene in the movie Imitation of Life with her own piercingly rich version of "Trouble of the World." Clinton talked about all the times the Rev. Jackson told him stories of his childhood and how challenging it was growing up poor in segregated Greenville. He imagined how his mother's life could have "gone off the tracks 15 times in 15 different ways" if she had not been a woman of great faith. "What could have been bad luck, she turned into God's great fortune. These sons didn't have to turn out like they did," Clinton said. "Thank you, God, for this great free woman."