Jesse Jackson died on Tuesday morning aged 84, according to a statement released by his family. The towering civil rights leader passed away peacefully on February 17, surrounded by loved ones, marking the end of an era in American civil rights history.
Jackson, the longtime civil rights activist, Baptist minister and two-time presidential candidate, participated in civil rights demonstrations alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. His Rainbow Coalition, a bold alliance of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ people, helped pave the way for a more progressive Democratic Party. Jackson made support for gay rights a major part of his campaign platform and challenged the Democratic Party's prioritization of White, moderate, middle-class voters; many credit his pioneering runs as laying groundwork for figures like Barack Obama and Kamala Harris.
Jackson had been hospitalized in recent months and was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological condition, according to his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Jackson had battled several infections consistent with the progression of his PSP diagnosis for the last several months. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, whom he married in 1962, and six children.
The reverend leaves behind a legacy of activism, compassion, and relentless pursuit of equality that shaped American democracy and inspired generations of civil rights advocates worldwide.