Abby Phillip

From CNN’s Abby Phillip, a triumphant new look at Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns of the 1980s and how they changed Black political power.

Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, activist, raconteur, and political candidate, finally gets a book worthy of his stature courtesy of CNN anchor Abby Phillip.

Focusing on his presidential runs in 1984 and, especially, 1988, Phillip highlights how Jackson built an unlikely coalition that showed how Black political power could be consolidated. His experience working under Martin Luther King; his organizing the SLCC’s Operation Breadbasket in Chicago and beyond; and his roots in the deep South combined into two astonishingly impactful presidential campaigns. Appealing to the working people of urban enclaves like that of Chicago, young people on college campuses, and Black people across the South, he created the modern Democratic coalition—one that has been used by all major Democrats seeking national success from Obama to Biden to Harris.

With her expert reporting, natural storytelling skills, and a story so full of humanity, politics, and hope, Abby Phillip has written a rousing popular history that sheds new light on an American icon.

Abby Phillip anchors NewsNight with Abby Phillip on CNN. She’s also worked at The Washington Post, ABC News, and Politico. Throughout her career she has covered multiple presidents, campaign finance, lobbying and several presidential campaigns. Phillip was named to the Time 100 Next List in 2021 and she was a recipient of the National Urban League’s Women of Power award. Phillip was raised in Maryland and is a graduate of Harvard University. She lives in New York City with her husband, daughter, and pup Booker T.