From 1962 to 1964, she served as parent coordinator for the
Northern Student Movement, organizing black parents and advocating for students' equal rights. She also worked for a Boston bank at the time, and was fired in 1962 for going to a rally to hear
Martin Luther King Jr. speak. She was involved in voter registration, and picketed for better representation on the board of directors of
Action for Boston Community Development. She worked as a Social Service Supervisor for the Head Start program in 1964. They founded a program called Operation Exodus, with Jackson as executive director. From 1965 to 1969, the program transported over 1,000 students to less crowded schools. Jackson was a delegate to several
White House Conferences. In 1972 she was a delegate and member of the Democratic Platform Committee, and gave a convention speech titled "Rights, Power and Social Justice." She was involved with many charitable and civic organizations, including the Young Women's Leadership Development Program, the Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the American Association for Higher Education, the Governor's Community Development Coordinating Council, and
Boston Children's Hospital, among others. She died of a stroke at the
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston on November 20, 2005. After her death, Jackson's friend and fellow activist
Sarah-Ann Shaw said to a reporter, "She was a person with strong opinions, who was willing to fight for things in order to create a better society. Young people have no idea of the contributions that she and others made in that era." == Awards and honors ==