Preston Love Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Preston Love Jr.
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Love in 2020
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1942 (age 82–83) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Martha |
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| Relatives | Laura Love (half-sister) |
| Education | University of Nebraska–Lincoln (BS) Bellevue University (MPS) |
Preston Love Jr. is an American politician, teacher, author, and community leader. He was a campaign manager for Jesse Jackson during the 1984 presidential primary elections. Love made history as the first Black person in Nebraska to receive support from a major political party for the United States Senate.
He was supported by the Nebraska Democratic Party in the 2020 election for the U.S. Senate. He also ran as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 special election for the U.S. Senate.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Preston Love Jr. was born in the early 1940s to Betty and Preston Love. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1960, he graduated from Omaha Technical High School. While there, he was a member of the school's football team. The famous musician Laura Love is his younger half-sister.
Love went on to college, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He later received a Master of Professional Studies degree from Bellevue University. He played football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team in college. After college, he was drafted to play for the Detroit Lions professional football team. He also played one season with the Lincoln Comets in 1965.
After his football career, Love worked as a junior executive at IBM. He also started the first computer store in Atlanta, Georgia. Preston Love Jr. was honored for his sports achievements by being inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Career and Community Work
Preston Love Jr. is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization in Omaha. This organization is called the Institute for Urban Development. In 2021, Love started a project to share the history of African Americans in Omaha. This project includes leading tours in North Omaha.
Love has also worked as a professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He writes columns for the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. He also contributes to the Fine Lines Journal.
Love's Political Journey
Love has been involved in politics and community leadership for many years. He served as the vice-president of the NAACP chapter in Omaha, Nebraska. The NAACP is a civil rights organization that works for justice and equality.
He worked for Harold Washington during his campaign for mayor of Chicago in 1983. In 1984, Jesse Jackson chose Love to be his presidential campaign manager. Love also worked for Andrew Young before Young became mayor of Atlanta. Young later appointed Love as the commissioner of planning for Atlanta.
In 1990, Love created an organization to help add the achievements of Black Nebraskans to the Nebraska Blue Book. This book is an official record of the state. Love later became the second associate chair in the Nebraska Democratic Party. He also supported freeing Edward Poindexter, whom he knew as a child.
In 2020, Love decided to run for the U.S. Senate. The original Democratic candidate, Chris Janicek, faced issues during his campaign. The Nebraska Democratic Party withdrew its support from Janicek. Love then announced he would run as a write-in candidate. A write-in candidate is someone whose name is not printed on the ballot, but voters can write it in. The Nebraska Democratic Party supported Love's write-in campaign. This made him the first Black person to receive major party support for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska.
Love was also the Democratic candidate in the 2024 special election for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska. He ran without opposition in the primary election. In the general election, he ran against the current senator, Pete Ricketts. Love lost the election to Senator Ricketts.
Awards and Recognition
Preston Love Jr. has received many awards and honors in Nebraska for his work.
- (2023) Inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame.
- (2022) Inducted into the Northeast Community College Alumni Hall of Fame.
- (2022) The Nebraska Democratic Party named its Annual Volunteer Award after him: the Preston Love, Jr. Volunteer Award.
- (2021) Received the Frank LaMere Hall of Fame Award from the Nebraska Democratic Party.
See also
- List of African-American United States Senate candidates
