The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III has resigned as president and CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, less than three months after his formal installation on Feb. 1. The news stunned the international human and civil rights organization.
Haynes is the senior pastor of the 13,000-member Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas and was the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s hand-picked successor when Jackson announced plans to step down in July 2023. Haynes said he felt it was “necessary” to move on in light of “challenges that continue to exist,” but declined to elaborate beyond a statement that he published from his Instagram account.
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“After continual prayer and deliberation, I have decided to step down from the position of chief executive officer and president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, effective immediately,” Haynes said in a statement. “I remain committed to honoring the rich history of RPC and the legacy of its esteemed leader, the incomparable Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., and, most significantly, to the calling and pursuit of social justice. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who have expressed their support since my appointment in July of last year. Rest assured that my work in the fight for liberation and freedom continues.”
It leaves an unexpected void at the top of the organization that was formed in 1996 in a merger of the National Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH. There was no immediate word on a timetable for Haynes’ successor, as officials at Rainbow PUSH haven’t responded to requests for comment.
When Haynes was installed as president in a formal ceremony at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Jackson became president emeritus. It was a nod to his failing health, which includes a battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Why Jackson selected Haynes
Jackson picked Haynes partly because he was from the South.
“Reverend Jackson kept saying, ‘not only are you the one to do this because of your work, but you’re the one to do this because you’re in the South,'” Haynes said. “And again, the movement for justice is going back South.”
Roland Martin, a fraternity brother of Haynes’ with Alpha Phi Alpha, broke the news on Tuesday.
Haynes took the helm with high expectations.
“Some mornings I wake up tripping like, ‘Wow, president and CEO of Rainbow PUSH,'” he said in February. “And then connecting the dots with the fact that when I was a student at Bishop College here in Dallas, Reverend Jackson came as our special guest convocation speaker for our 100th anniversary. That kid is now succeeding that person he looked up to and still looks up.”
Haynes entered the position with his eyes open, saying he had been a fighter since he was named after his grandfather, Frederick Douglass Haynes. He seemed to have a long-term vision for what he could do as president.
“Unfortunately, what he was fighting for in the 70s, 80s, [and] 90s, now we have to fight for in the 20s and probably ’30s, except it’s morphed into a different kind of fight,” Haynes said.
“Sadly, we had more voting rights protection in ’71 as a result of the ’65 voting rights bill than we have in 2024,” Haynes continued, “As a consequence, one of the things we’re going to be calling for is voting rights, not just a bill or law, but a voting rights amendment where the voting rights of citizens are protected, regardless of the state that they live. Sadly, there are too many people who find themselves living below the poverty level, so we’re going to push for not a minimum wage, but a living wage.”
