Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., civil rights leader, two-time presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, died Tuesday morning at age 84. Jackson died peacefully, surrounded by family, closing a chapter on more than half a century of agitation, negotiation and public witness on behalf of the poor, marginalized and overlooked.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family. His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity,” the Jackson family said in a statement.
“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 in a statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies described Jackson as a monumental figure in the American civil rights movement, a two-time presidential candidate and a lifelong champion of justice, equality and Black political empowerment.
Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson emerged from the segregated South to become one of the most recognizable religious and political leaders in the nation. Jackson graduated from public schools in Greenville and enrolled at the University of Illinois on a football scholarship before transferring to North Carolina A&T State University, graduating in 1964. Jackson began theological studies at Chicago Theological Seminary, deferred studies to work full time in the Civil Rights Movement and was ordained June 30, 1968, by Rev. Clay Evans. Jackson earned a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.
A protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1965 and directed Operation Breadbasket, which leveraged Black consumer buying power to press corporations to hire and promote Black workers. Jackson was present in Memphis on April 4, 1968, when King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel. In the years that followed, Jackson positioned leadership at the forefront of continuing the unfinished work of the movement.
In 1971, Jackson founded Operation PUSH in Chicago to expand economic and educational opportunity in underserved communities. In 1984, Jackson launched the National Rainbow Coalition. The organization later merged with Operation PUSH to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which became a vehicle for voter registration, corporate accountability campaigns and public advocacy.
Jackson’s political ambitions broke historic barriers. In 1984, Jackson sought the Democratic presidential nomination and became the first African American candidate to win major party state primaries and caucuses. Jackson earned more than 3.2 million votes. In 1988, Jackson expanded that coalition, winning more than a dozen state contests and registering millions of new voters nationwide. The campaigns reshaped Democratic politics and laid groundwork for future candidates, including President Barack Obama.
Jackson framed the campaigns as movements, not merely electoral efforts. The concept of a Rainbow Coalition sought to unite African Americans, Latinos, labor, farmers, women and other communities around a shared agenda of economic and social justice.
“Citizens have the right to do something or do nothing,” Jackson said before traveling to Syria. “We choose to do something.”
Beyond electoral politics, Jackson carved out a role as an unofficial diplomat. In 1984, Jackson secured the release of U.S. Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria. In 1999, Jackson negotiated the release of hostages held in Kosovo. Jackson’s willingness to engage on the world stage reflected a broader philosophy that linked civil rights to global human rights struggles.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, described Jackson as a towering leader of the American Civil Rights Movement whose fight for equality and social justice changed the trajectory of the nation and impacted countries around the world. Tanden said Jackson believed a multiracial, multi-class rainbow coalition of those left on the margins could hold the power to change America and described Jackson’s campaigns as shifting the political landscape toward a broader vision of democracy.
Jackson’s public life spanned more than six decades. From marching alongside King during the Civil Rights Movement to mobilizing millions of new voters during presidential campaigns, Jackson consistently linked faith, politics and economic justice. Jackson championed voting rights, expanded economic opportunity, challenged corporate discrimination and advocated for peace-building and global human rights.
Supporters described Jackson as a bridge-builder who carried the moral urgency of the Black church into boardrooms, political conventions, foreign capitals and city streets. Jackson’s voice and cadence produced enduring slogans, including “Keep Hope Alive” and “I Am Somebody,” refrains that affirmed dignity in the face of discrimination and poverty.
Jackson is survived by wife Jacqueline and children Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline and Ashley Jackson, along with grandchildren. Jackson was preceded in death by mother Helen Burns Jackson, father Noah Louis Robinson and stepfather Charles Henry Jackson.
