Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader and Presidential Hopeful, Dies at 84

Jesse Jackson, a prominent figure of the U.S. civil rights movement and protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 84, his family confirmed in a statement Tuesday.

“Our father was a servant leader—not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the statement read. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

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The cause of Jackson’s death has not yet been disclosed, but his family said he “died peacefully.”

Jackson, a two-time presidential candidate, announced in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease some years prior.

In November, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based nonprofit founded by Jackson, confirmed that the civil rights leader had been living with a neurodegenerative condition called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) for over a decade.

“He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his PSP condition was confirmed,” the nonprofit said, in a statement that announced Jackson had been hospitalized.

He was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital later that month, and was said to be in a “stable condition.”

A life of leadership

Born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, a historically Black school in Greensboro, where he graduated in 1964. He then moved to Chicago, on a Rockefeller grant, to study at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

Already active within the civil rights movement, Jackson joined other students in traveling to Selma, Alabama, as Martin Luther King Jr. led a march to the Capitol in Montgomery.

In 1966, when King relocated to Chicago to launch the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s (SCLC) northern branch, Jackson soon followed suit and worked on SCLC’s “Operation Breadbasket,” an economic justice program.

Jackson was with King before his assassination in April 1968, and was ordained as a Reverend in June that same year.

Jackson founded his own movement, the People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) in 1971, which later merged with another one of his foundations, the Rainbow Coalition, in 1996 to become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC).

The RPC describes itself as a “multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international membership organization fighting for social change.”

In the later years, when working in and around politics, Jackson helped negotiate the release of several detained and captured Americans around the world. In 2000, in part due to these efforts, Jackson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Bill Clinton.

“The cause of justice has no greater co-worker than Jesse Jackson. It’s hard to imagine how we could have come as far as we have without the creative power, the keen intellect, the loving heart, and the relentless passion of Jesse Louis Jackson,” said Clinton as he presented Jackson with the highest civilian honor in the U.S.

Presidential hopes

Jackson had strong political ambitions and campaigned to be the Democratic presidential candidate in both 1984 and 1988.

The civil rights leader hoped to engage more African Americans with politics, pushing for higher voter registration rates across the country and heightened representation.

“It’s not enough to get in the mainstream and swim. You must get in the mainstream and redirect its course,” Jackson said during his first campaign efforts.

He travelled across the U.S., speaking to communities from Birmingham, Alabama, to Manchester, New Hampshire.

Despite gaining millions of votes in the primaries, Jackson lost the Democratic presidential nominee campaign, finishing third behind eventual nominee Walter Mondale and Gary Hart.

He ran again in 1988, but lost the party’s nomination to Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Appearing at the Democratic National Convention after his defeat, Jackson delivered a speech that touched on the division in the U.S.

“We meet tonight at the crossroads, a point of decision. Shall we expand, be inclusive, find unity and power; or suffer division and impotence,” said Jackson.

In 1995, Richard Hatcher, the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana, noted the impact of Jackson’s presidential hopes.

“It was a way of showing that an African American could compete at the very highest level,” he said.

Tributes pour in

Jackson is being remembered for his service to the civil rights movement and the legacy he leaves behind.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice paid tribute in a moving statement Tuesday morning.

“Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. devoted his life to lifting people in poverty, the marginalized, and those pushed to society’s edges. Through Operation PUSH, he pushed barriers and opened doors so Black people and other excluded communities could step into opportunity and dignity,” she said.

“My family shares a long and meaningful history with him, rooted in a shared commitment to justice and love. As we grieve, we give thanks for a life that pushed hope into weary places.”

King also shared a black and white photo of Jackson and her father, alongside the caption: “Both now ancestors.”

Rev. Al Sharpton remembered Jackson as “a consequential and transformative leader who changed this nation and the world.”

“He kept the dream alive and taught young children from broken homes, like me, that we don’t have broken spirits,” Sharpton said of his long-time friend. “I will always cherish him taking me under his wing, and I will forever try to do my part to keep hope alive.”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former United States ambassador to the United Nations, referred to Jackson as “an iconic figure for both my generation, and those who have followed in the pursuit of civil rights.”

“I recall fondly the fire in his face, passion in his eyes, and the conviction in his voice the last time I saw him in New York a few years ago. His legacy and commitment will be forever remembered,” she said.

Donna Brazile, former interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, celebrated Jackson’s “historic presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988” and said they “helped to reshape modern American politics and the Democratic Party.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Jackson “a giant of the civil rights movement who never stopped demanding that America live up to its promise.”

“He marched, he ran, he organized and he preached justice without apology,” he continued.
“May we honor him not just in words, but in struggle.”