The Rev. Jesse Jackson doesn't need to pad his résumé.

But when the civil rights leader and former presidential candidate visits the Tri-Cities today and Thursday to support innovative technology involving medical isotopes, he'll tap into another arena of public service.

"I'm trying to think of an area where we haven't found Rev. Jackson, actually, actively involved in some positive ways," said Dallas Barnes, faculty member of Washington State University Tri-Cities, where Jackson will meet Thursday with students.

"Certainly he brings to the community a lot of history in a lot of areas - civil rights being part of it and his interest in international affairs," Barnes said.

The Rev. Albert Wilkins, pastor at Morningstar Missionary Baptist Church in Pasco, agreed that Jackson's breadth of involvement is marked.

"Diversity seems to be his calling card," Wilkins said. But then he thought twice about it. "I don't know if it's all that diverse. Wherever there is social injustice or something that pushes forward what I like to think of as the Kingdom of God, he's been a real soldier in that."

In the late 1960s, Jackson worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to expand the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition into Chicago and to head the coalition's efforts to promote equal employment and business opportunities for blacks.

Jackson was with King in Memphis, Tenn., as the late civil rights leader was slain in 1968. It was an early instance of his many personal encounters with moments of history.

After King's death, Jackson had a falling out with the SCLC, and in 1971 he founded Operation PUSH, an organization dedicated to economic empowerment for the disadvantaged and people of color.

In 1984, he founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization based in Washington, D.C., which eventually merged with the other organization to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, of which he is president.

Jackson ventured into politics, seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 1984 and 1988. The second time around, he won 13 state contests, mostly in the South. But his campaign peaked with a victory in the Michigan primary, briefly making him the party's front-runner.

The scope of his activities eventually grew to encompass everything from international diplomat to cable TV host.

He was a host for Both Sides With Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000. In November 2006, he received Michael Richards' public apology after the comedian used racial slurs against two black audience members during a performance.

Jackson's efforts abroad sometimes broke step with official U.S. policies, but other times he worked with the blessings of presidents.

His involvement led to the release of detained Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria, prisoners from Cuba, hostages from Kuwait and Iraq in 1990, and three U.S. prisoners of war from Serbia in 1999.

He met with former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

He called for investigations into voter irregularities in Ohio after the 2004 presidential election. In 2005, he visited the parents of Terri Schaivo during their legal battle to keep the disabled Florida woman alive.

From Selma, Ala., to Jena, La., he's ventured into the heated waters of America's racial tension.

He offered to pay the college tuition of the black woman who in 2006 accused three white members of the Duke University lacrosse team of raping her. The case was later thrown out.

His first-hand experience with history is part of what excites some Tri-Citians about his visit.

"I view him as a pioneer and a trail blazer," said Robin Mitchell, a WSU Tri-Cities student and president of the campus's multicultural club. "I think that people like him pave the way for people like Barack Obama."

The club will be among the group meeting with Jackson for lunch Thursday.

"Those kind of things happen in Seattle and other places, but to have it kind of fall in our lap, we're very excited and very appreciative," Mitchell said.