Mannie Jackson is the chairman and co-owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, the exhibition basketball team he previously played for. When he purchased the team out of bankruptcy, Jackson became the first African American with controlling ownership in an entertainment organization and international sports team.

He has been heavily recognized throughout his career including an acknowledgment as one of the nation’s 30 most powerful and influential black corporate executives, one of the nation’s top 50 corporate strategists, and one of the 20 African-American high-net-worth entrepreneurs.

Jackson’s success came after a childhood of great poverty, being born and living in a boxcar in Illmo, Missouri. Jackson, along with Govoner Vaughn – who also went on to play for the Globetrotters – were the first African Americans to start on the University of Illinois Fighting Illini basketball squad. During his collegiate career, Jackson often faced racism from the university’s fans and students. Despite this, Jackson was an outstanding player and, along with Vaughn, became the first African-American lettermen at the university and graduated in 1960.

After graduation, Jackson tried out for the New York Knicks, but failed to make the team. However, he was invited to try out for the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1964, after a short-lived career with the Globetrotters, he left the team to study economics and work with General Motors in Detroit. Then in 1986, he received a job at Honeywell and was quickly promoted to higher positions, soon becoming one of the company’s highest executives.

In 1986, Mannie Jackson helped to found the Executive Leadership Council, a group of African American corporate executives from various industries that would interact and build ties with one another.

In 1993, when the Harlem Globetrotters’ popularity was beginning to decline, and the team was nearly bankrupt, Jackson purchased the team for $5.5 million. Jackson soon replaced many of the older players and established a new focus on skilled showmanship. This move proved successful, helping the Harlem Globetrotters to regain its status as one of America’s favorite teams.

In 2010, Jackson was inducted as a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. That same year he was awarded the Order of Lincoln – the State’s highest honor – by the governor of Illinois in the area of Sports. In 2017, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.