The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a pivotal civil rights figure active for over five decades and a strong contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, has passed away at the age of 84.
His family released a statement affirming his role as “a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.” They noted that they “shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.” The statement concluded by highlighting that his “unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions,” urging people to “honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
The specific cause of his death was not disclosed.
For more than a decade, Jackson had been living with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), having initially received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. In recent years, he was also hospitalized twice due to Covid-19.
An enduring presence in the civil rights movement and Democratic political landscape since the 1960s, Jackson shared a close relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during their earlier years.
In a May 2020 interview with the Guardian, Jackson reflected on his pioneering efforts, stating he had been “a trailblazer, a pathfinder.” He recounted facing skepticism, doubt, and concerns about an African American seeking the presidency, even from Black scholars who deemed his efforts futile, with some believing a Black candidate could not win.
He later remarked to the Guardian, 12 years after his initial run, that “it was a truly significant moment in history.”
Two decades later, Barack Obama, the first Black president, acknowledged Jackson’s contributions in paving the way for his own historic victory, with Obama celebrating in Chicago, Jackson’s home city.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he spoke out against disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, questioning: “After four centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination, why would anyone be surprised that African Americans are dying at disproportionately higher rates from the coronavirus?”
He further asserted that all previous presidents had failed to eradicate “the contagion of white superiority and address the complex challenges facing African Americans.”
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, on 8 October 1941, Jackson’s political involvement began early as he navigated the racially segregated South. He was elected class president at the all-Black Sterling High School, where he also excelled in sports. In 1959, he earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. The Chicago White Sox extended an offer for him to join their baseball team, but he opted to prioritize his education instead.
During his freshman year college winter break, Jackson returned to Greenville and attempted to get a book from the local public library, which was designated for whites only, and was denied entry. This experience profoundly affected him. A few months later, on 16 July 1960, Jackson, along with seven Black high school students, entered the Greenville library for a peaceful demonstration. After peacefully browsing and reading, the group, who became known as the Greenville Eight, were swiftly arrested for disorderly conduct and later released on a $30 bond. Following a federal lawsuit filed by the students, a judge ruled in their favor, affirming their right to use the publicly funded institution, leading to the integration of the Greenville library system in September 1960.
Jackson did not return to the University of Illinois after his first year, instead transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, a historically Black institution in Greensboro. There, he continued his football career as a quarterback, served as the national officer for the Black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, and was elected student body president. While pursuing a sociology degree, he maintained his activism by participating in sit-ins at Greensboro restaurants.
“My leadership capabilities stemmed from the athletic realm,” Jackson shared with the Washington Post in 1984. “In many respects, they were honed through playing quarterback: assessing opposing strategies, motivating your own squad. When the game begins, you utilize what you possess – and refrain from complaining about what you lack. You capitalize on your strengths. You also train with the intent to win.”
While in college, Jackson met Jacqueline, his future wife, whom he married in 1962. They had five children: Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan Luther, Yusef DuBois, and Jacqueline Jr. He later had a sixth child, Ashley, from an extramarital affair with Karin Stanford in the early 2000s.
Jackson first encountered King, who would become his mentor, at an Atlanta airport in the early 1960s. King had been observing Jackson’s student activism for several years.
In 1964, Jackson enrolled at the Chicago Theological Seminary while remaining deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He journeyed with his classmates to Selma, Alabama, to join the movement after witnessing news coverage of “Bloody Sunday,” where King led nonviolent civil rights marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, only to be violently confronted by law enforcement. Impressed by Jackson’s leadership during the Selma campaign, King offered him a position with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the civil rights organization he co-founded.
After a few years, Jackson paused his seminary studies to dedicate himself to SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, an economic justice initiative. This program leveraged the influence of Black churches by encouraging ministers to pressure companies, through negotiations and boycotts, to increase the employment of Black individuals. In 1967, Jackson assumed the role of Operation Breadbasket’s national director and was ordained as a minister the following year.
“We anticipated he would perform well,” King remarked at an Operation Breadbasket meeting in 1968, “but he has exceeded expectations.”
Tragedy soon followed Jackson’s ascent to a leadership role within SCLC. On 4 April 1968, he witnessed King’s assassination from beneath the balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
The profound experience remained with Jackson throughout his life. In 2018, he told the Guardian, “Every time I recall it, it feels like reopening an old wound.” He described it as a “hurtful, painful thought: that a man of love is cut down by hate; that a man of peace should be killed by violence; a man who cared is eliminated by indifference.”
After King’s death, Jackson continued his work with SCLC until 1971, when he established his own organization, People United to Save Humanity (Push), aimed at improving the economic conditions of Black individuals. This organization initiated reading programs for Black youth, assisted them in finding employment, and urged corporations to hire more Black managers and executives.
In 1984, Jackson launched his campaign as a Democratic presidential candidate, becoming the second Black individual to run a nationwide campaign, following Shirley Chisholm over a decade earlier.
Addressing an audience at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California, Jackson declared: “Tonight, we unite, bound by our belief in a mighty God, with sincere respect and affection for our country, inheriting the legacy of a great party, the Democratic Party, which offers the best hope for guiding our nation toward a more humane, just, and peaceful path.”
He continued, “This is not a flawless party. We are not flawless people. Yet, we are called to a perfect mission. Our mission is to nourish the hungry, to clothe the destitute, to shelter the homeless, to educate the unlearned, to create opportunities for the unemployed, and to prioritize humanity over nuclear conflict.” He ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to former Vice President Walter Mondale, with incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan winning the general election.
Following his initial presidential campaign, Jackson established the National Rainbow Coalition to advocate for voting rights and social welfare programs. In the mid-1990s, he merged his two organizations, forming the multiracial Rainbow Push Coalition, which focuses on achieving educational and economic equality. Over the years, the coalition has awarded more than $6 million in college scholarships and provided financial aid to over 4,000 families facing foreclosures, helping them save their homes, as detailed on their website.
Jackson sought the Democratic presidential nomination a second time in 1988, demonstrating significant strength but ultimately losing to Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, who was then decisively defeated by George H.W. Bush in the general election.
He expressed, “I wept as I reflected on those who made this possible yet were absent… People who paid an immense price: Ralph Abernathy, Dr. King, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, those who fiercely fought [at the Democratic National Convention] in Atlantic City in ’64, those engaged in the movement throughout the South.”
In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton bestowed upon Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his decades-long dedication to expanding opportunities for people of color.
Jackson tirelessly advanced King’s legacy, remaining at the forefront of the global civil rights movement through a tumultuous half-century of American history, spanning from the election of Donald Trump to the emergence of Black Lives Matter.
“Dr. King championed multiracial, multicultural collaborations rooted in shared conscience, rather than ethnic nationalism,” Jackson stated in 2018. “He perceived nationalism—whether Black, white, or brown—as a narrow concept, particularly given our worldwide challenges. Therefore, fostering a multiracial environment profoundly reflected his vision for America and the world, outlining what America should represent globally.”
“The moral universe’s trajectory is long and inclines towards justice, but it requires active effort to bend; it does not curve on its own. Dr. King consistently reminded us that whenever the movement gains momentum and progresses, it also encounters resistance.”
“Those who resisted change were, to some extent, re-energized by Trump’s demagoguery. Dr. King would have been disheartened by his victory but would have been mentally prepared. He would have urged: ‘We must not allow our spirits to falter. We must use this not as a reason to surrender, but to strengthen our resolve and continue the struggle.’”