Grief hung in the air, but so did gratitude, as people filled the courtyard to honor the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, a powerful national figure who was a South Carolina son.

Jackson, a longtime civil rights leader, lay in state at the S.C. Statehouse on Monday following a private ceremony for his family.

A line of thousands wrapped the grounds to get a glimpse and, as one woman said, “send the brother home.”

A few hours after the viewing began, Jesse Jackson Jr. stepped outside the Statehouse and was instantly swarmed with a mass of mourners. He stopped to take photos, share laughs and receive condolences. Eventually, he made his way to the peak of a small hill and addressed the crowd.

“Daddy would have it no other way, in South Carolina,” he said to the adoring crowd. He said his family “drove 21 hours here to make sure he made it here on time,” and offered thanks on their behalf to everyone coming out.

For many, the day felt historic and deeply personal. Barbara Wilson, who drove an hour and a half from Spartanburg, remembers the first time she saw Jackson speak when she was 10 years old.

“His speech just so inspired me,” she said. “I’ve sort of kept up with him, read about him, taught my children about him, and, you know, his movement … I was just so inspired to come out to, you know, share my respects.”

Although friends and families were in line for hours, they were able to make new acquaintances as well as share laughs, stories and tears.

“People been talking, they’ve been singing, and we’ve been hugging and meeting folks,” Peggy Wright-Noldon said. Wright-Noldon, who traveled from Indian Land, South Carolina, said she and her friends came because, “We’re children of the early Civil Rights Movement. And Jesse actually has done a great job, so we got to take up the torch and do what we need to do.”

For Tonia Brown, the day marked a moment she felt she owed to history. Born in 1966, she said she grew up watching Jackson’s influence shape the world around her.

“Rev. Jesse Jackson has stood for so many people,” she said. “And I think it’s only fair that we come out and show tribute to him on this very day. It’s a sad occasion, but at the same time, it is a very memorable memorial and historical occasion. This is a day to mark.”

Darlene Williams and Levola Taylor stood together in line, calling the moment “black history.” Taylor said Jackson’s message stayed with her for decades.

“We can never forget what Rev. Jackson did for the Black community and for humanity,” she said. “Indeed, a privilege. He taught us, we are somebody.”

Williams remembered watching Jackson walk alongside Martin Luther King Jr. before King was assassinated in April 1968.

“I love to listen to him when he talks because he had power in his voice,” she said. “And when he put that fist up, I had to learn how to ball my fists up and put it up.”

Some came because they had followed Jackson’s political rise. Edwina George recalled voting for him when he ran for president, once in 1984 and once in 1988.

“I remember when he was encouraging young people to vote,” she said. “And I was one of the young persons that did vote when he was running for president. So just like I said, ‘This is a historical moment.’”

Others came because Jackson had touched their lives directly. James Hickman drove 17 hours from Chicago, where Jackson lived for decades. Hickman said he often worked with Jackson through Operation PUSH.

“He always let me come out for Operation PUSH and sell my products, my calendars, my merchandise, because I do a lot of history and educational stuff,” he said. “Don’t nobody do it like I do it because I put our own information, put our story, out.”

Hickman said he saw Jackson several times a year at events across the country, from Selma, Alabama, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and many other places.  His wife, Norana, stood beside him, organizing their display of African American history calendars and posters.

“We try to keep this history going,” she said. “Keep this history alive.”