Civil Rights Icon Jesse Jackson Dies at 84
Reverend Jesse Jackson, one of the United States’ most influential Black voices and a towering figure in the civil rights movement, died peacefully this morning at the age of 84, his family announced in a statement.
A Baptist minister, Jackson dedicated himself to the cause of civil rights from the 1960s, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And playing a key role in fundraising efforts for the movement. He continued to advocate for civil rights even as his health declined in recent years.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” his family said. “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.”
While the family did not disclose a specific cause of death, Jackson revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He had been hospitalized in November for observation related to another neurodegenerative condition, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to media reports.
Jackson was a dynamic orator and a successful mediator in international disputes, expanding the space for African Americans on the national stage for more than six decades. He was the most prominent Black person to seek the US presidency – launching two unsuccessful campaigns for the Democratic Party nomination in the 1980s – until Barack Obama’s historic election in 2008.
He was present for many pivotal moments in the struggle for racial justice in the United States. He was with Dr. King in Memphis in 1968 when the civil rights leader was assassinated, and was visibly moved to tears as Obama celebrated his 2008 presidential election victory. He also stood with the family of George Floyd in 2021 after a former police officer was convicted of his murder.
Born Jesse Louis Burns on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, he later adopted the surname of his stepfather, Charles Jackson. “I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had a shovel programmed for my hands,” he once said.
Jackson excelled in high school and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, but later transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, a historically Black university, where he earned a degree in sociology. He participated in his first sit-in protest in Greenville in 1960 and joined the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights marches in 1965, where he caught the attention of Dr. King.
Later in his career, Jackson emerged as a mediator and envoy on several international fronts. He was a prominent advocate for ending apartheid in South Africa and served as President Bill Clinton’s special envoy for Africa in the 1990s. He also undertook missions to secure the release of US prisoners held in Syria, Iraq, and Serbia.
In 1996, he founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based non-profit organization dedicated to social justice and political activism.
Jackson is survived by his wife and six children.
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