Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Dies at 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the longtime civil rights leader who marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and later mounted two historic presidential campaigns, has died at the age of 84, his family announced. Jackson passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, surrounded by loved ones, according to a family statement.

In recent years, Jackson had faced significant health challenges. He was hospitalized for observation in November and had been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare degenerative neurological disorder. In 2017, he revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease, describing it as a “physical challenge” but insisting it would not halt his activism. His father, Noah Lewis Robinson Sr., also battled Parkinson’s and died in 1997 at 88.

For decades, Jackson was a towering figure in the fight for civil rights, advocating for marginalized communities in the United States and abroad. His family said his “unwavering commitment to justice, equality and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity.”

Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson was given the name Jesse Burns by his mother, Helen Burns Struggs, who was 16 and unmarried at the time.

An honors student and athlete, Jackson earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, graduating in 1964. As the civil rights movement intensified, he became involved in local activism, including sit-ins to desegregate public facilities.

He later enrolled at Chicago Theological Seminary but left just three credits short of completing his degree to work alongside King in Selma, Alabama. Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization King led to advance nonviolent protest. Ordained in 1968 by the Rev. Clay Evans, Jackson would eventually receive a Master of Divinity degree from the seminary in 2000 in recognition of his life’s work.

Jackson’s national profile grew further with his bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. In his first campaign, he captured 18% of the primary vote and won several states, an unprecedented achievement for a Black candidate at the time. His 1984 run was clouded by controversy over remarks about New York’s Jewish community, and the nomination ultimately went to former Vice President Walter Mondale, who lost the general election to President Ronald Reagan.
Despite never holding elected office, Jackson remained a prominent political force.

He negotiated the release of hostages held abroad, advocated for Washington, D.C., statehood as a “shadow senator,” and served as a special envoy under President Bill Clinton. In 2000, Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Jackson’s influence was visible on election night in 2008, when he was seen in tears as Barack Obama was projected to win the presidency. He later said the moment reflected the long struggle of the civil rights movement and the progress it had achieved.

Jackson is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Jacqueline, their five children, another daughter, and generations of activists and leaders inspired by his work.