WASHINGTON (VINnews) — Ashley L. Jackson, the daughter of the late civil rights leader and Baptist minister Rev. Jesse Jackson, has revealed that she converted to Judaism after a yearslong spiritual journey, writing that her father embraced her decision and supported her faith before his death.

In a personal essay published Friday in The Washington Post, Jackson said she completed her conversion on June 12 after years of study, reflection and involvement in Jewish life.

“I was raised to believe that faith must lead to action,” Jackson wrote. “In Judaism, I found an enduring expression of this belief.”

Jackson, a writer, producer and founder of the nonprofit Push The Next Generation, said she was drawn to Judaism’s emphasis on learning, questioning, ritual and tikkun olam — the Jewish concept of repairing the world. She recalled being deeply moved the first time she heard the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah and said she found in Judaism a spiritual home that reflected the values instilled by her parents.

She also described a deeply personal moment two years before her father’s death, when the longtime civil rights leader accompanied her to a Shabbat service at her synagogue.

“As the Saturday morning service proceeded, my father sat in the front row — holding my hand, dancing to prayers in a language he did not speak, eating the Sunkist candies the congregation had tossed to celebrate a bar mitzvah,” she wrote.

Jackson said the service culminated in an emotional tribute after reform leader Sharon Brous invited her father to receive a blessing.

“Before she could speak, the congregation was already on its feet,” Jackson wrote. “My father — one of the most recognizable Baptist ministers in America — wept as the congregation offered him a spontaneous ovation.”

Jackson said her identity as both Black and Jewish has given her a unique perspective on the relationship between the two communities, which she acknowledged has become increasingly strained in recent years despite a shared history of fighting for justice and civil rights.

“About 1 percent of American Jews identify as Black,” she wrote. “Their experience — my experience — shows that the alienation between these two communities can be overcome.”

She also acknowledged that “racism and antisemitism can surface in even the most intimate and familiar spaces,” but described her identity as “the meeting of two diasporas” united by resilience, faith and hope.

Following her conversion, Jackson chose the Hebrew name Miriam Yiskah. She said “Yiskah” was selected as a feminine tribute to her father, allowing her to carry his legacy into the next chapter of her life.

“I feel as though I have been entrusted with a sacred charge,” she concluded. “Amid widespread concerns about antisemitism and anti-Blackness, it is necessary to recall that our differences do not preclude unity.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died earlier this year at age 84, was one of America’s most influential civil rights leaders, a close associate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and a two-time Democratic presidential candidate.