United States civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died peacefully at the age of 84, his family announced.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement, the family said Jackson’s life work reshaped global struggles for justice.
“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shake a global movement for freedom and dignity,” the statement read.
They described him as a lifelong servant to the oppressed.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.
We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
Jackson was a close associate and mentee of slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr and was with him on the day he was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
In a 2008 interview, Jackson said King’s killing “traumatised” him and accused the US government of spreading unfounded fears about the civil rights leader.
“In spite of those odds, he lives now through his dreams in the hearts of millions of people,” Jackson said.
From the Segregated South to the National Stage
Born Jesse Louis Burns on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson grew up in the racially segregated American South and later took the surname of his stepfather.
He studied sociology at the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina before joining the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965, where he forged a close relationship with King.
After King’s death, Jackson carried on his mentor’s mission by leading the Chicago-based organisation Operation PUSH, focused on improving economic, social and political conditions for Black Americans.
He later founded the National Rainbow Coalition, which grew out of his first presidential campaign in 1984. The coalition sought political representation for a wide range of marginalised groups, including LGBTQ+ communities, and later merged with Operation PUSH.
Jackson twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988.
During this period, he apologised for anti-Semitic remarks made to a Washington Post journalist and publicly severed ties with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
“Hold Your Head High”
Jackson’s speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention became one of his most enduring moments.
“I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me. And it wasn’t born in you, and you can make it,” he said.
“Wherever you are tonight, you can make it.
Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes. Don’t you surrender.”
Global Diplomat and Advocate
In the 1990s, Jackson increasingly focused on international affairs, serving as a special envoy for Africa under former US president Bill Clinton and campaigning against apartheid in South Africa.
He also travelled to Syria, Iraq and Serbia in efforts to secure the release of American prisoners.
In 2008, he wept in the crowd as Barack Obama celebrated his historic election victory.
“Our children walk into a very different America tomorrow,” Jackson said at the time, describing the moment as “mind-boggling, mind-blowing.”
Final Years and Lasting Legacy
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and faced serious health challenges in his later years. Despite this, he remained active in social justice causes, including promoting COVID-19 vaccination among Black Americans, advocating for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Speaking to demonstrators in Minneapolis ahead of the conviction of the police officer who killed George Floyd, Jackson said:
“Even if we win, it’s relief, not victory.”
He added:
“They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”
