He would send companies detailed questionnaires asking them how many African-Americans they hired, in what departments and at what salaries. If their responses did not satisfy Jackson, he would meet with them and demand that they change their ways, all the while threatening them with a boycott if they did not meet his demands.

Jackson also used his moral and religious authority as an ordained Baptist minister to wield influence in the political domain.

In meetings with company executives, Jackson was more likely to quote the bible than the law, to appeal to God over pragmatic political considerations.

"How in the world do you fight the man when he comes into the room and starts right off with a prayer that God will help you see the light?" agonized one corporate official, according to Frady.

Even some prominent members of the black community realized Jackson's tactics were unlikely to make him any friends.

"[Jackson] missed his calling. What Jesse should be is our business shakedown artist," says black leader Bruce Llewelyn, who is a former member of the Carter administration.

Jackson's brash way of conducting politics at times has bordered on the offensive.

At one point towards the end of his 1984 presidential campaign, Jackson sat down with a group of black reporters, told them they could "talk black talk now," and proceeded to speak of New York as "Hymietown," in reference to its large Jewish population.

That incident, combined with his refusal to distance himself from Louis Farrakhan, despite the latter's virulent anti-Semitic positions, has led some to label Jackson as racist, a charge he vigorously denies.

Jackson first refused to admit he made the hymietown comment, but then, as Jewish groups grew more and more incensed, he admitted to the remark and attributed it to a moment of thoughtlessness. Apologizing to those whom he had offended, Jackson affirmed his human capacity for error.

"I am not a perfect servant," he declared at the Democratic convention in 1984. "I am a public servant doing my best against the odds. As I develop and serve, be patient. God is not finished with me yet."

Outside the Barn

One of the most frequent criticisms leveled at Jackson centers upon his relentless, even violent, pursuit of the spotlight.

There is a pervading sense that Jackson is disingenuous, that what he wants more than anything is to be the star of his own personal morality play.

Colton, in her book The Jackson Phenomenon, recounted an instance where Jackson literally shoved her out of the way to get to a pack of television cameras.