Overview:

Born in segregated South Carolina, Jackson cut his teeth as an activist in college, leading marches and sit-ins, before Martin Luther King, Jr., took him on as a protege. He established a power base in Chicago, where he created a movement that fueled his two White House runs.

He was a transformational figure in American history, a civil rights icon who made his reputation as a young man in the Jim Crow South, tutored by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. A veteran of sit-ins and marches, he ran groundbreaking presidential campaigns — built on multiracial coalitions and centering messages of hope and inclusion — that garnered 7 million votes and paved the way for former President Barack Obama’s historic 2008 run. 

A skilled community organizer, charismatic politician, and gifted orator who never lost his South Carolina drawl, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was as determined in his advocacy for the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and economic security for coal miners in West Virginia as he was to help residents of forgotten Black neighborhoods in Chicago, his adopted hometown. 

Yet Jackson — whose work transcended seemingly rigid social, political, and religious boundaries — was at heart an African Methodist Episcopal preacher, called upon by God to minister to His flock. Well into his later years, long after leaving the global stage, those who knew him say Jackson remained faithful to that calling, visiting churches in Chicago and praying with parishioners from his wheelchair. 

The Right Rev. Frank M. Reid, retired AME bishop, recalls the last time he saw Jackson. 

“It was at the 92nd birthday celebration of Minister (Louis) Farrakhan,” the former leader of the Nation of Islam, Reid says. 

“To see those two giants sitting together, both in wheelchairs, but alive; it was a great moment. Because it speaks of Dr. King, his connection to Jesse, and it speaks to the honorable men themselves,” Reid says. “And it shows us that whatever our religious titles or our preferences or non-preferences may be, if we’re in the struggle, we’re all in it together.”

A relentless advocate who fought for social justice, as a college student, Jackson, 84, died Tuesday after a long illness, according to his family. Though the details of his death were not specified, Jackson had spent a decade battling Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a rare progressive neurological disorder. 

Reid said it was fitting that Jackson, a titanic civil rights figure, died during Black History Month. 

“God said, ‘Jesse, you fought a good fight, kept the faith and now there’s laid upon you a crown,’ Reid says. “After all, he led a whole new generation and generations yet unborn to know Jesus, and so today was not Jesse’s death, but his resurrection.”

A Life Dedicated to Equality

A statement from Jackson’s family called him “a tireless change agent” whose “unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity.” His work, according to the statement, “elevated the voices of the voiceless, from his presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote.” 

At the same time, “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.”

As news of Jackson’s death rocketed around the globe, politicians, civil rights leaders and the faith community hailed him as a singular figure. Jackson, they said, dedicated himself to ensuring society’s poor, marginalized and downtrodden are heard. 

From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, [Jackson] was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God.

Former President Barack Obama

Jackson “helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history,” according to a statement from Obama. “From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God” deserving of dignity and respect.

A Chicago native, former First Lady Michelle Obama “got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager,” according to the statement. “And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land.”

“We stood on his shoulders,” the statement read.

Controversial Witness to History

President Donald Trump joined the many tributes to Jackson, calling him “a good man” and a “force of nature.” Former President Joe Biden called him “a man of God and of the people.” The Rev. Al Sharpton, who worked with Jackson on urban anti-poverty campaigns, called him “a consequential and transformative leader who changed this nation and the world.” 

But Jackson’s remarkable life was not without controversy. 

A member of King’s entourage, Jackson was standing beside the civil rights leader at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis the moment he was killed in 1964; days later, Jackson suggested in a TV interview that he cradled King’s head and comforted him as he died, but others on the scene said it never happened. 

During his 1984 presidential campaign, Jackson had to apologize for disparaging remarks he made about Jewish voters in New York that were leaked to the media. In 2001, he acknowledged he’d had an extramarital affair with a staffer and fathered a child out of wedlock. And in 2008, he was recorded bitterly criticizing Obama, then a presidential candidate.

But on the night Obama won the White House, Jackson was caught on camera in the crowd at Chicago’s Millennium Park during the victory rally. Tears of joy streamed down his cheeks.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, to a teenage single mother, Jackson grew up amid hard-core segregation and Black Codes, without a relationship with his father. Nevertheless, he quickly became known for his charisma and athletic skill; in high school, he was a three-sport star and student body leader. He joined the civil rights movement during his college years at North Carolina A&T State University in the early 1960s,; his leadership blossomed as he led marches and sit-ins.

Faith, Activism, and Politics

Drawn toward ministry and community organizing, Jackson later attended Chicago Theological Seminary, deepening his religious and social justice commitments. His path shifted when he came under the tutelage of Martin Luther King Jr. and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he honed his skills as a communicator and organizer.

In 1984 and 1988, Jackson transformed Democratic politics by building the multiracial “Rainbow Coalition,” expanding Black voter participation, and pushing issues like economic justice and voting rights into the national spotlight. Though both his insurgent campaigns faltered, his political career culminated in his widely praised 1988 Democratic National Convention speech, where he framed his candidacy as a moral movement aimed at broadening the party’s vision.

The founder of Operation PUSH in 1971 and later the leader of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition after its 1996 merger, Jackson used the organization and its political clout to advance economic empowerment, voter registration, access to education, and corporate accountability. 

Using boycotts, negotiations, and grassroots organizing, Jackson pressed for jobs, diversity in hiring, and investment in underserved communities. A key component was his promotion of a “Rainbow Coalition” vision that united Black Americans, labor, faith groups, the LGBTQ community and other marginalized constituencies around shared political and economic goals. 

He also served as a shadow senator for the District of Columbia in the 1990s and acted as a special envoy under President Bill Clinton, working on negotiations in international crises. In 2000, Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his work on behalf of humankind.

‘Barrier-Breaking Public Servant’

In a statement, The Right Rev. Paula Clark, presiding prelate of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, called Jackson “an iconic leader locally, nationally, and internationally. Across the world, he is being honored as an accomplished activist, preacher, and barrier-breaking public servant.”

His “profound” legacy, she said, is one of “leadership and a passionate commitment to justice and the welfare of all people—one that continues to inspire and encourage all who walk in his formidable footsteps.”

She said his memory is a blessing. “We give God thanks for the blessing and honor of having journeyed this life of faith alongside him.”

Bishop William J. Barber II, founder of the Moral Mondays movement, said Jackson’s life was “a gift from God and a witness that God exists in the ways he cared for and lifted all people.” 

Jackson’s focus on social and economic equality, “from the pulpit to a historic presidential run, the way he dared to keep hope alive whenever the nation struggled with being who she says she is and yet ought to be.”