Watch: Obama calls on Americans to “step up” like Jesse Jackson for a better future

Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump, without mentioning him by name, at a recent public tribute to the late civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

Watch Obama’s remarks in the video player above.

Obama said Jackson’s run for president in the 1980s paved the way for other black leaders, including his successful presidency and re-election in 2009.

He watches: Full eulogy for Barack Obama at Rev. Jesse Jackson’s memorial service in Chicago

“We live in a time when it is difficult to hope,” Obama said. “Every day we wake up to a new assault on our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of ​​the rule of law, and an affront to public morals. Every day you wake up to things you never thought possible.”

“Every day those in high places tell us to fear each other,” Obama said, referring to the current Republican leadership in Washington.

“But this man, the Rev. Jesse Lewis Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path,” Obama added. He added: “His voice calls on each of us to be advocates for change, to be messengers of hope, to step forward and say: Send me, wherever we have the opportunity to make an impact.”

Obama was one of three former Democratic presidents, along with Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, to attend the service. Former Vice President Kamala Harris also attended.

Jackson died in February at the age of 84.