Charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson has died at age 84. Jackson, a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr., was known for his inspiring oratory and decades-long advocacy for Black Americans and other marginalized communities.
He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, winning significant support but never holding elected office. Jackson founded the Operation PUSH and National Rainbow Coalition organizations, later merged into the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, and served as Democratic President Bill Clinton’s envoy to Africa.
Jackson was instrumental in securing the release of Americans held overseas, including in Syria, Cuba, Iraq, and Serbia, and continued activism throughout his life, including condemning police violence in 2020.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jackson grew up under Jim Crow segregation, began activism as a college student, and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1968. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000 and remained a prominent civil rights voice until stepping down from leadership in 2023.
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and five children.
