Jack Seigel: A Passionate Progressive
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Politics and Activism

Jack Seigel: A Passionate Progressive

Above all, his passion has instilled that fire and drive in the others around him, and that’s something that will make a lasting influence on many people Jack interacts with in his life.

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Jack Seigel: A Passionate Progressive
Shane Sullivan

I knew Jack Seigel back when he was a captain on our team - ambitious and driven to not only do the best he could as an individual, but for his team. As a freshman when he was a senior, I didn't know much about what he was studying or what he did outside of track and field - all I knew was that he was that he was a philosophy major. After college, he won an NCAA postgraduate scholarship for excelling both academically and athletically, being the conference champion in the discus throw and all-UAA in the shotput.

There was one thing that was notable and that I will always remember about Jack: his passion. Just before I raced my distance race of the meet – he told me something along the lines of, “hey, we brought you here. You have this great opportunity to make us proud.” They were words that put into perspective how lucky I was to be in the place I was in - not only at that particular moment but in my position in life.

But it's what Jack has done since that has been some of the most rewarding parts of his life. Seeing what Jack has been up to on social media has been one of the best parts of staying on Facebook. During his senior year of college, he got significantly more engaged in politics.

"I studied political theory and ethics, but I wasn't very political until senior year. The Bernie Sanders campaign helped get me into politics," he said. "So did coming back to St. Louis and working in local government during the summer. I mostly learned just how many groups of people aren't included in politics at the local or national level, and people who are doing well, or who have political power, don't have adequate incentive to engage with these people."

Soon after graduating college, Jack got started volunteering in the campaign of Tishaura Jones, the progressive St. Louis city mayor running in the 2017 mayoral campaign. Eventually, he would be hired by the campaign and become a field organizer. He would describe working on the campaign as one of the most rewarding parts of his life.

“It was the first time I worked in a campaign office. I’ve never worked in such a fast-paced environment and learned so much.”

In a heavily close and surprising battle against the Democratic establishment, Jones would fall just short by only 888 votes to Alderman Lyda Krewson in the Democratic primary. In a race that Treasurer Jones would have most likely won had other candidates not split the progressive black vote, many consider the race a victory. But Jack was not satisfied with the result.

“People say we won despite losing because we massively over-performed compared to expectations. But we never ran to finish second so I disagree with that sentiment.”

“However, our campaign absolutely had an important conversation with voters in St. Louis about development reform, racial justice, and making the government work for everyone. We captured an an energy and engaged a broad and diverse coalition in a way that no other campaign did. We ran a people-powered, volunteer-led, ideas based campaign and that is something to be proud of,” he said. “I really admire Treasurer Jones and the work she does for marginalized people in the city. I couldn’t think of a better mayor. St. Louis is lucky to have her and I was lucky to get the chance to work for her.”


The campaign was just one of the kickstarters to Jack’s engagement in politics and activism. On September 15, 2017, Jason Stockley, the former St. Louis police officer who had shot and killed Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011, was acquitted and found not guilty of first-degree murder. In a controversial police shooting in which Stockley had said, “going to kill this motherfucker, don’t you know it,” the decision sparked widespread outrage and protests in St. Louis. This happened in an area where structural racism runs deep, as Michael Brown was also shot and killed in nearby Ferguson in 2014.

Jack actively engaged in the protests, and on September 18, 2017, he was among 123 protesters arrested. He was released the next morning.

“The protests work and are working. We have already seen results in St. Louis and will continue to see results as a result of the economic boycotts,” he said. “Next, I'd like to cite the recent St. Louis city court ruling that explains everything the cops did to arrest folks after the highway action was wrong and the report from the Judge expresses that they can’t do that anymore.”

“I'm talking about kettle-ing, not letting people leave, arbitrarily declaring a protest as an unlawful assembly, not giving people time or space to disperse and using chemical weapons on unarmed, peaceful, first amendment protected protesters.”

On November 15, federal U.S. District Judge, Catherine Perry, issued a 49-page opinion which blocked the St. Louis police department from ordering protesters to disperse unless there’s an immediate threat of violence. In addition, her opinion limited when officers can use chemical agents like pepper spray and mace. For Jack and fellow protesters, this showed that their mission worked.

As for his own experience in his night of prison, Jack grew substantially and learned much about the Black Lives Matter movement from fellow protesters. He had this to say:

“Jail was fine, we all (150 ish) people went in together. I shared a cell with some faith leaders who marched with MLK so it was interesting to hear about their lived experience and how the civil rights movement has changed and how it hasn't, he said. “But mostly jail was boring, it made me think a lot about the systemic problems in our criminal justice system and my privilege being processed as a white man.”

Being out the next morning, Jack still went to work, and as of now, his case is still up in the air. He left without charges or a summon, but he can still be charged for up to a year. But he made sure to express his gratitude to the many people who helped the protesters in similar situations as himself.

“Last thing is to shout out the legal observers, jail support and lawyers who are crucial parts of the movement. They helped get people out, make sure people in jail got their medication and in general help minimize or at least record police brutality and abuse.”


Now that Jack has worked on a campaign and experienced much in his activism, he has developed his view of policy and public office.

“We need radical change in our politics to make them more inclusive. Public servants should be oriented towards caring about the oppressed as a prerequisite for holding office.”

He doesn’t call himself an activist, but his current involvement in the St. Louis progressive movement is fostered by friends in St. Louis who engage in the work and hold him accountable.

“We make change slowly, by showing up and speaking out. It’s a great group of people committed to doing that in St. Louis.”

Ever since college, his path has become a different one from what he or someone else may have expected coming out. At the moment, he is applying to policy graduate school and funding it as a part of his NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

““I also want to shift from campaigns to policy and I think grad school will help. As crazy as it seems, I miss being in class,” he said. “ When you’re a student you take for granted teachers that guide your learning and make sure you’re reading pieces that make you think. No one does that for you in real life.”

He covets a focus on policy now as opposed to campaigning for a plethora of reasons to refocus his efforts, most of which he puts perfectly himself.

“To me, campaigns are wasteful. They cost so much money, they cost so much time, and even though they have important and necessary conversations, if the right person loses, then it’s all for nothing, and a whole movement can end from something as stupid as an election.”

“I want to minimize campaign waste, and eventually shift my focus into the substance of a campaign which is policy. That’s how change can actually happen. It’s the point of the campaigns and all the promises. Campaigns are grand gestures, and policies are about results.”

One thing is for sure – that Jack’s passion for everything he puts his mind to, whether throwing, campaigning, or protesting, has carried him to make great contributions and results on not only himself, but an entire movement or organization he is a part of. In a movement he truly believes and takes pride in, he can chip away at making true, substantive in an unequal system that has stayed stagnant for too long. Above all, his passion has instilled that fire and drive in the others around him, and that’s something that will make a lasting influence on many people Jack interacts with in his life.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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