Before an appearance on Fox News, Jackson said Obama had talked down to African Americans during a Father's Day speech.
The reverend did apologize to Obama, who accepted his apology.
Jackson later said he thought the controversy had helped the Obama campaign.
"He didn't receive any pain, I felt the pain and the embarrassment and the hurt," said Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow Push Coalition.
"You can't tell me that Jesse Jackson has been in the media for over 40 years, that when somebody hooks a mic up to him, that he don't realize that it's live," said Harold Davis, AmeriCan.
The members of AmeriCan say it is hard to teach young people about respect when they hear comments like Jackson's.
