CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the American civil rights movement who carried the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. into national politics and spent decades advocating for racial equality, economic justice and voting rights, has died. He was 84.
Jackson was one of the most recognizable civil rights leaders of the late 20th century, a preacher-activist whose rallying cry to “keep hope alive” became a defining refrain of American political life.
A protégé of King, Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s as an organizer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was in Memphis in 1968 when King was assassinated, an event that profoundly shaped his life’s work.
In the years that followed, Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in Chicago, focusing on economic empowerment, education and corporate accountability. He later established the Rainbow Coalition, seeking to unite Black, Latino, labor and progressive voters in a broad political alliance that would influence Democratic Party politics for decades.
Jackson twice sought the nation’s highest office, running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and again in 1988. His 1984 campaign broke new ground as one of the first serious bids by a Black candidate for a major party nomination. Four years later, his 1988 campaign won more than 6 million votes and several primary contests, placing him second in the delegate count and cementing his role as a national political force. Though he did not secure the nomination, his campaigns expanded voter participation and helped reshape the Democratic coalition.
Throughout his career, Jackson combined grassroots activism with international advocacy. He campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, pushed American corporations to adopt fairer hiring practices and at times engaged in diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Americans detained abroad.
In recognition of his decades of activism and public service, Jackson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to him in 2000 by President Bill Clinton.
Supporters praised him as a fearless advocate who brought issues of poverty and systemic racism into the national conversation. Critics at times accused him of courting controversy. Yet even detractors acknowledged his lasting imprint on American politics and civil rights.
In later years, Jackson scaled back public appearances after announcing in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Still, his voice, rooted in the Black church tradition and the cadence of protest , remained influential across generations of activists.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and their children, including Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.
From the marches of the 1960s with Dr. Martin Luther King to his historic presidential campaigns, Jesse Jackson’s life traced the arc of modern civil rights history, a sustained effort to expand opportunity and political power in the United States.
