🕊️Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Titan and Political Power Broker, Dies at 84

The two-time presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition leaves behind a decades-long legacy of activism that reshaped American politics, voting rights, and economic justice.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure of the modern civil rights movement who transformed grassroots protest into national political influence, has died at the age of 84, his family confirmed 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 Jackson family said in a statement.

For more than five decades, Jackson stood at the intersection of faith, politics, and activism. Rising to prominence as a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. during the height of the 1960s civil rights struggle, Jackson helped organize voter registration drives, economic boycotts, and mass mobilizations that pushed racial justice to the forefront of American public life.

From the Pulpit to the Political Arena

Ordained as a Baptist minister, Jackson channeled the cadence of the Black church into a brand of political advocacy that bridged civil rights and electoral politics. In 1971, he founded what would later become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based organization advocating for economic inclusion, voting rights, and corporate accountability.

But it was Jackson’s presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 that marked a watershed moment in U.S. political history. Running as a Democrat, he built one of the most diverse coalitions ever assembled at the national level—uniting Black voters, Latino communities, labor unions, farmers, and progressive activists under what he called a “Rainbow Coalition.” His 1988 campaign won more than 6.9 million votes and multiple primaries, reshaping the Democratic Party’s electoral calculus.

Though he never secured the nomination, Jackson expanded the political imagination of what was possible for Black leadership on a national stage—decades before the election of Barack Obama.

Global Diplomacy and Controversy

Beyond domestic politics, Jackson often positioned himself as an informal diplomat, traveling to Syria, Cuba, and other geopolitical flashpoints to negotiate the release of American hostages. These efforts earned praise from some quarters and criticism from others who questioned freelance diplomacy.

Jackson’s career was not without controversy. Over the years, he faced scrutiny over remarks deemed inflammatory and personal challenges that made headlines. Yet his influence endured, particularly in expanding access to political participation for marginalized communities.

A Lasting Legacy

Civil rights scholars argue that Jackson’s greatest impact may lie in how he institutionalized activism within mainstream politics—embedding issues like economic justice, voting access, and minority representation into national campaigns.

Even in later years, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Jackson remained a visible advocate for social justice causes, appearing at rallies and supporting voting rights initiatives.

As tributes pour in from across the political spectrum, historians say Jackson’s life underscores a defining arc of modern America: the transformation of protest into policy, and moral witness into political power.

His passing marks the end of an era—but the movement he helped build continues to shape debates over democracy, equity, and representation.

Jesse Jackson: A Life in Pictures

From his early days leading sit-in protests as a college student to his back-to-back presidential campaigns in 1980s, the Rev. Jesse Jackson spent more than six decades in the public eye as a civil-rights leader and politician. Born into poverty in racially segregated South Carolina, he was an early protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and witnessed his 1968 assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

His profile reached its apex during the 1980s, when he ran for the presidency twice as a Democrat. Although the party’s nomination eluded him, he received millions of votes in his 1984 and 1988 candidacies, which he used to promote social justice and economic empowerment for the poor.

Jesse Jackson, second from right, singing “We Shall Overcome” with
the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, left, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
and Albert Raby, right, in Chicago on Aug. 4, 1966.

Mr. Jackson speaking during a protest in front of the
Indiana governor’s mansion in Indianapolis on July 27, 1969.

Addressing reporters at the opening of the National Black
Political Convention in Gary, Ind., on March 11, 1972.

Mr. Jackson, right, and Ronald Reagan, the Republican nominee
for president, after meeting at the headquarters for Operation PUSH
in Chicago in August 1980.

Mr. Jackson in Chicago during his 1984 presidential campaign.
He would run for a second time in 1988.

Mr. Jackson preparing for a Democratic presidential candidates’ debate
at Columbia University in 1984 with, seated from left, Dan Rather
of CBS News, Walter Mondale and Gary Hart.

Mr. Jackson greeting members of his police motorcycle escort in
Dallas during his 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

At Operation PUSH in Chicago in December 1989.

Marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL., in 
1990, commemorating the 25th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday."

Mr. Jackson with Bill Clinton, then the Democratic nominee for president, in Atlanta in September 1992.

Mr. Jackson touring the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1997 as a special envoy of President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Jackson with Barack Obama, who was then a United States senator, in 2005.

Mr. Jackson watching the news of Mr. Obama’s projected presidential
victory at the election night rally in Grant Park in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2008.

Mr. Jackson delivering a sermon about the death of Trayvon Martin at
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, Fla., on March 25, 2012.

Mr. Jackson a memorial for Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014.

Mr. Jackson cheering for President Barack Obama at the Wells Fargo Center during
the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 27, 2016.

Mr. Jackson in his office at the headquarters of the
Rainbow-PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024.

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-- By James W. Thomas

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