Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, a two-time presidential candidate and Baptist minister who became one of the most recognizable voices of the American Civil Rights Movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 84.
His family issued a statement announcing his death on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 17.
“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. “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 honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
Health struggles in his final years
Jackson’s passing follows a battle with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a neurological condition similar to Parkinson’s disease. He was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013 but did not publicly disclose his condition until 2017. In April 2025, doctors updated his diagnosis to PSP.
On Nov. 12, he was hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. After nearly a month of care, he was released on Nov. 24. At the time, his son, Yusef Jackson, issued a statement on behalf of the family thanking supporters for their prayers.
“We bear witness to the fact that prayer works and would also like to thank the professional, caring, and amazing medical and security staff,” he said at the time of his father’s release.
From the Jim Crow South to a national platform
Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson came of age in the Jim Crow South, where he experienced firsthand the injustices of segregation in schools, employment, and voting. Those early encounters with discrimination shaped his lifelong conviction that racial barriers were both morally and politically wrong.
While attending North Carolina A&T State University, Jackson emerged as a student organizer. He helped spearhead protests to desegregate Greensboro lunch counters, theaters, and restaurants, aligning himself with the sit-in movement reshaping the South.
In 1965, following “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Jackson met with Dr. King and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Under King’s mentorship, he quickly rose to prominence within the movement.
Jackson went on to lead major initiatives, including Operation Breadbasket in Chicago and the Chicago Freedom Movement, both focused on expanding economic opportunity, housing access, education, and fair treatment for Black communities.
Continuing Dr. King’s work
After Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis in April 1968, Jackson became a steward of his mentor’s unfinished work. He left the SCLC in 1971 and founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), which centered on economic empowerment and political representation.
His advocacy targeted corporate hiring practices and investment in Black communities. He later broadened that vision through the National Rainbow Coalition, bringing together poor and working-class people across racial, ethnic, and religious lines — including Black, Latino, white rural, labor, and LGBTQ+ communities — around shared demands for peace, jobs, and justice.
Presidential campaigns that changed the trajectory of American politics
Known for his electrifying oratory and relentless activism, Jackson entered the national political arena with campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
At the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, he delivered his iconic “Keep Hope Alive” speech, which was the climax of a historic campaign urging Americans to persevere despite poverty and systemic injustice.
Though he did not secure the nomination, his campaigns transformed American politics. He earned more than 3 million votes in 1988 and finished third in the primaries, demonstrating that a Black candidate could build a viable, nationwide coalition. His candidacies pushed the Democratic Party to more directly address racial justice, poverty, apartheid in South Africa, and Middle East peace.
A global advocate for justice and a legacy of hope
Jackson remained a fixture in political and civil rights spaces for decades. His work extended beyond U.S. borders, as he frequently traveled to negotiate in hostage crises and advocate for political prisoners, serving as an unofficial diplomat and international mediator.
In 2000, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his decades-long commitment to justice and equality.
Even in his later years, Jackson continued speaking out during pivotal national moments, including the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2021, he was arrested twice for acts of civil disobedience related to voting rights and opposition to the U.S. Senate filibuster, underscoring his willingness to risk personal hardship for principle well into his 80s.
With news of his death, tributes have poured in from former presidents, elected officials, community leaders, and everyday citizens honoring his lifelong commitment to justice.
For generations, Jackson’s message remained constant: keep hope alive. His life’s work — rooted in faith, protest, politics, and perseverance leaves an indelible mark on the American conscience and on movements for justice around the world.
