Temporary national executive director appointed at Rainbow PUSH Coalition amid group’s ‘transition’

Bishop Tavis Grant has been appointed the acting national executive director of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization announced Tuesday.

Grant will be filling a role temporarily at the group that was last filled by Rev. Tyrone Crider, who died in 2017.

Rainbow PUSH Coalition was formed by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. in 1996. Its headquarters is at 930 E. 50th St.

Grant has served in the organization in several capacities, including as a volunteer and national field director. He is currently the pastor of Greater First Baptist Church in East Chicago, Indiana.

His newest position will see him lead the entirety of the Chicago-based organization, along with its affiliates around the country, said Chinta Strausberg, a spokesperson for Rainbow PUSH.

Grant will lead Rainbow PUSH during a transitional period. The “acting” role is “more appropriate” for the organization at this time, Strausberg said.

Grant has been in the ministry for over 30 years.

“My life has been immensely impacted by the work and legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. I am humbled to serve in this capacity as we are committed to the day-to-day work of Rev. Jackson and the legacy of the Jackson family,” Grant said in a news release.

There has been no timeline provided on the “changes” that the organization is going through, but Strausberg said more role change-ups may be in the future.

Grant said the group will not waver from its mission to work toward justice.

“We stand in the crucible of insurrectionist, insurgency, and suppression,” Grant said in the news release. “We cannot let the flame of civil rights and social justice go out on our watch. Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. has set the pace and we will run this race and maintain the momentum for justice and social change.”

Mariah Rush is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.