“Haiti is family,” said Jacqueline Jackson, the widow of Jesse Jackson, to the protocol officer to emphasize that Haiti and its ambassador, Lionel Delatour, should be seated in the front row with the family. The exchange, during the funeral on Saturday, March 7, in Chicago, “left a strong impression on me and demonstrated the importance of Haiti in the eyes of the Jackson family.”

“Haiti had to be present in Chicago, at the private ceremony at Rainbow PUSH, to pay a final tribute to this giant, a great friend of our country,” Ambassador Delatour said of this more intimate ceremony, organized 24 hours after Friday’s tribute, which brought together three presidents—Clinton, Obama, and Biden—Vice President Kamala Harris, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and other personalities.