Jesse Jackson death latest: Family release statement after civil rights icon dies aged 84
Celebrated social activist and ally of Dr Martin Luther King praised as ‘transformative leader’ after passing away following recent health struggles
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Baptist minister and ally of Dr Martin Luther King Jr who twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died at age 84, his family said 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 Jackson family said.
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and has struggled with his health in recent months.
The reverend had advocated for the rights of Black Americans and other marginalized communities since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which he had spearheaded with his mentor, Dr. King, a fellow minister and towering social activist.
He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, attracting Black voters and many white liberals in two strong campaigns that ultimately fell short at a time when Ronald Reagan dominated the political scene.
Jackson founded the Chicago-based civil rights groups Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition and served as Democratic president Bill Clinton’s special envoy to Africa in the 1990s.
‘I was afraid to fail’: Jackson’s early life
The future civil rights leader and minister was born Jesse Louis Burns on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, 16, and Noah Louis Robinson, a 33-year-old married neighbor.
However, Jackson would not learn the identity of his biological father until he was seven years-old.
Later in his childhood, he took the last name of his stepfather, Charles Jackson, whom his mother married when he was an infant. Jackson considered both men to be his fathers.
Growing up in poverty in the Jim Crow era, facing societal judgment for being born out of wedlock and personal challenges with his biological father, Jackson learned to channel his fears into excellence.
“I was afraid to fail,” Jackson told The Chicago Tribune in 1996. “An all-around excellence in sports and academics, being a first-string athlete and an honor student, could protect you from feeling a certain form of rejection. People don’t laugh at you when you get A’s.”
From his early adolescence, Jackson was defined by his charisma and intelligence, being elected class president of Sterling High School and graduating with honors.
Jackson rejected an offer from a minor league baseball team and instead took a football scholarship at the University of Illinois. He later transferred to North Carolina A&T State University, where he got his start in student politics.
Watch: Jesse Jackson’s most iconic speeches
Here’s a look at some of Jackson’s finest public addresses.
Jesse Jackson’s most iconic speeches as civil rights icon dies aged 84
Al Sharpton: ‘My mentor has passed’
Here’s a very moving tribute from the Rev. Al Sharpton, who knew Jackson for decades.
He writes on X:
“My mentor, Rev. Jesse Jackson, has passed.
“I just prayed with his family by phone. He was a consequential and transformative leader who changed this nation and the world. He shaped public policy and changed laws. He kept the dream alive and taught young children from broken homes, like me, that we don’t have broken spirits.”
America wakes up to news of Jackson’s death
It’s still very early in the U.S. and we can expect tributes to Jackson to come flooding in from the political establishment as the day progresses but here’s some initial remembrances of the great campaigner.
Jackson’s tears as Obama made history
Another memorable moment in Jackson’s career came after he endorsed Barack Obama’s campaign and went on to see the young Democrat make history by become the first Black U.S. president in 2008.
Watching Obama’s acceptance speech in Grant Park, Chicago,, Jackson was seen with tears in his eyes.
“You know, I was crying. We saw on the screen that he had won. And I thought about the moment. The movement.
“Those who could not make it to Chicago. The people who made that night possible – they were not there. They couldn’t make it,” Jackson said of Obama’s winning night in conversation with Vanity Fair in 2020.
“I wish they could have been there. Dr. King and Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer. People who’d paid the supreme price,” he said.
“If God had let them live just 15 seconds more to see the fruits of their labor.”
How Jackson befriended Dr Martin Luther King
While attending North Carolina A&T State University in 1960, Jesse Jackson became active in the institution’s burgeoning civil rights movement, joining his local Congress of Racial Equality chapter and taking a leadership role in organizing sit-ins.
Among these was a demonstration he organized on July 16, 1960, at the “whites only” Greenville County Public Library, which would later land Jackson and seven other Black students with the nickname the “Greenville Eight.”
As a result of that protest, the library closed down its segregated branches and later opened a single integrated one, attracting the attention of Dr King.
While studying theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary, Jackson was recruited by King to be an organizer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the older man soon appointed him director of the Operation Breadbasket program, dedicated to improving the economic conditions of Black communities.
At 27, Jackson was a rising voice in the movement and considered by many as a contender to become MLK’s successor.
But King’s assassination changed the future of the SCLC and Jackson’s position within it. Jackson was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, and remained haunted by the tragedy for the rest of his life.
“Every time I think about it, it’s like pulling a scab off a sore,” he said of the killing in a 2018 interview with The Guardian.
“It’s a hurtful, painful thought: that a man of love is killed by hate; that a man of peace should be killed by violence; a man who cared is killed by the careless.”
In pictures: Jackson and the presidents
Here are some shots of Rev. Jackson with several of the U.S. presidents he knew and worked with during his lifetime, from Jimmy Carter to Joe Biden.
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Obituary: The civil rights icon who built on mentor Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and inspired a generation
Here’s Ariana Baio with a look back at Jackson’s extraordinary life.
Jesse Jackson: Martin Luther King Jr’s protege who dedicated his life to civil rights
‘His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity’
Here’s the Jackson family’s statement in full:
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.
“He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family.
“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity. A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilising millions to register to vote – leaving an indelible mark on history.
“Reverend Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; their children – Santita, Jesse Jr, Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline; daughter Ashley Jackson, and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Burns Jackson; father, Noah Louis Robinson; and stepfather, Charles Henry Jackson.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world. 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 honour his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.
“Public observances will be held in Chicago. Final arrangements for Reverend Jackson's celebration of life services, including all public events, will be released by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.”
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies at 84
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the legendary civil rights activist and two-time presidential candidate, has passed away Tuesday aged 84, his family has said in a statement.
A cause of death was not immediately given but Jackson’s family said he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
Here’s our breaking report from Craig Hoyle.
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies aged 84
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