In between bites of artichoke dip and bouts of nostalgia, Jealous addressed his legacy and his resignation, which is scheduled to be announced Monday. “As others questioned its vitality, we have been able to regrow the mightiest of all trees in the ecology of social justice,” he said. “I’m really going to miss the street fights we’ve been in.”
Jealous said he’s leaving the post to spend more time with his children and to raise funds to support African American candidates for office.
Five years ago, when Jealous took the helm of the 104-year-old civil rights group, he became the youngest president in its history. At 35, he was a relative unknown in Washington circles, having been a Rhodes Scholar and nonprofit leader who had cut his teeth as an activist in New York and California, among other places.
