Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon, died Tuesday at the age of 84.
Even though Jackson had been dealing with some health issues for quite some time, the death of the civil rights crusader who advocated for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care sent shockwaves around the world.
Jackson was hospitalized for two weeks in mid-November, with an official statement from Rainbow PUSH Coalition saying he was admitted for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. According to the statement, Jackson was diagnosed with the rare brain condition, which is related to Parkinson’s, in April.
He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.
And when he declared, “I am Somebody,” in a poem he often repeated, he sought to reach people of all colors. “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” intoned America’s best-known civil rights activist since King.
Santita Jackson confirmed that her father died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.
Rev. Al Sharpton remembers his mentor as one of this nation’s “greatest moral voices”
Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, is scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday at 11 a.m. on the passing of his mentor.
In a statement through his organization, Sharpton called Jackson one of the nation’s “greatest moral voices.”
Today, I lost the man who first called me into purpose when I was just twelve years old. And our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices. The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson was not simply a civil rights leader; he was a movement unto himself. He carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice. One of the greatest honors of my life was learning at his side. He reminded me that faith without action is just noise. He taught me that protest must have purpose, that faith must have feet, and that justice is not seasonal, it is daily work.
In 1969, when I was still a teenager trying to find my place in this struggle, Rev. Jackson appointed me youth director of the Brooklyn branch of Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He trusted me with responsibility and saw something in me before I fully saw it in myself. That is the measure of a true mentor: they do not just teach you; they name you.
He later named the headquarters of National Action Network “The House of Justice,” a reminder that movements must be anchored in moral purpose. Through Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, he expanded the political imagination of this nation. He ran for President not because it was easy, but because he believed America could be better than its history. In doing so, he opened doors that many of us, me included, who followed in his footsteps and ran for President.
But to me, he was more than a public figure. He was Godfather to my two daughters. He prayed over them as infants. He spoke life into them as young girls. We stood in his home not as a headline, but as family. He taught them, and me, that trying is as important as triumph. That you do not wait for the dream to come true; you work to make it real. Because of him, I learned that leadership is not about being seen, it is about seeing others. Because of him, I learned that our lives mean the most when they are spent widening the circle of who belongs.
Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. His presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered.
Today, I grieve not only a leader, but the steady voice that guided me when the road was uncertain. I am heartbroken. But I am eternally grateful that God allowed me to walk beside a man who helped bend the arc of history and shaped the arc of my own life.
Today we mourn. But we do not retreat. We pray for the Jackson family to carry the torch. The greatest way to honor Reverend Jesse Jackson is not in memory alone, but in movement. He taught us to keep marching. He taught us to keep organizing. He taught us that justice is never given, it is demanded.
Rest now, Reverend Jackson. I love you.
— Rev. Al Sharpton
Atlanta mayor means to keep Jackson’s hopes alive
“I join the people of Atlanta mourning the passing of an American icon,” Mayor Andre Dickens said. “Rev. Jackson showed up for us consistently. He never stopped challenging leaders to do better by Americans, especially when it comes to economic justice. And that’s a fight that we will continue.”
“Here in Atlanta, as well as around the country, we would be wise to heed Rev. Jackson’s words and ‘keep hope alive.’ We intend to,” his statement said.
Illinois governor orders flags to half-staff
Gov. JB Pritzker ordered flags to half-staff across Illinois in honor of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Pritzker, a Democrat, called Jackson a “giant of the civil rights movement.”
“He broke down barriers, inspired generations, and kept hope alive,” Pritzker said in social media posts. “Our state, nation, and world are better due to his years of service.”
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Human Rights Campaign recalls Jackson’s support for marriage equality
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, praised Jackson for embodying “courage, hope, and a relentlessness that will not be denied.”
“His historic presidential campaigns paved the way for generations of Black leaders to imagine ourselves in rooms we were once told were closed to us,” Robinson said in a statement.
“Reverend Jackson also stood up when it mattered; when it wasn’t easy and when it wasn’t popular. His support for marriage equality and for LGBTQ+ people affirmed a simple, powerful truth: Our liberation is bound together.”
Civil rights prosecutor says Jackson reminds Americans to ‘keep up the good fight’
Jackson’s impact “can be felt in virtually every aspect of American life,” said Kristen Clarke, former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice during the Biden administration.
“A tireless and extraordinary public servant, his charge to all of us was to stay hopeful, keep up the good fight and respect the dignity and humanity of all people,” Clarke said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “Jackson has been, and will always be, a central part of the story regarding America’s ongoing quest for justice and equality.”
King’s son hopes Jackson’s life will inspire others to be ‘louder, braver, more faithful’
“Jackson was more than a civil rights advocate—he was a living bridge between generations, carrying forward the unfinished work and sacred promise of the Civil Rights Movement,” Martin Luther King III and his wife Andrea King said in a statement.
“He walked with courage when the road was uncertain, spoke with conviction when the truth was inconvenient, and stood with the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten when it was not popular to do so. His life was a testament to the power of faith in action—faith that justice could be won, that dignity belongs to every person, and that love must always have the final word.”
“May his memory be a wellspring of strength and courage for all who continue the sacred work to which he gave his life. As he so often reminded us, “Keep hope alive.”
‘Poor People’s Campaign’ leader recalls Jackson’s hope for America’s promise
“Jesse Jackson was a gift from God and a witness that God exists in the ways he cared for and lifted all people, the way he called forth a rainbow coalition of people to challenge economic and social inequality 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,” said Bishop William J. Barber II, who co-founded the Poor People’s Campaign.
“When I was a college student, he was a gift to me as a mentor, and it has been my great privilege to have him walk alongside me through my whole public ministry,” Barber said. “May we all take up his hope for the America that has never yet been but nevertheless must be.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock on Jackson: ‘His ministry was poetry’
“America has lost one of its great moral voices. Reverend Jesse Jackson spent his life working to ensure our nation lives up to its highest ideals. From his early days as a young staffer with Dr. King onto the national stage, he fought for freedom, racial justice, equality, and for the human dignity of the marginalized and the poor,” said Warnock, the Georgia Democrat who doubles as senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the ‘spiritual home’ of the King family.
“With an eloquence and rhythmic rhetoric all his own, Jesse Jackson reminded America that equal justice is not inevitable; it requires vigilance and commitment, and for freedom fighters, sacrifice. His ministry was poetry and spiritual power in the public square. He advanced King’s dream and bent the arc of history closer to justice,” Warnock said.
South Africa’s president credits Jackson for hastening the end of apartheid
Jackson, who first travelled to South Africa in July 1979, just after Steve Biko’s passing, vigorously advocated for American sanctions on the apartheid regime and supported Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid struggle.
“His campaigns for an end to apartheid included disinvestment from the apartheid economy and challenging the support the regime enjoyed in certain circles and institutions internationally,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“We are deeply indebted to the energy, principled clarity and personal risk with which he supported our struggle and campaigned for freedom and equality in other parts of the world.”
The Rev. Martin Luther King’s daughter eulogizes a life in the service of humanity
“He was a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed,” the Rev. Bernice King said.
“My family shares a long and meaningful history with him, rooted in a shared commitment to justice and love. As we grieve, we give thanks for a life that pushed hope into weary places.”
President Donald Trump says Jackson ‘will be missed’
Trump remembered Jackson in a social media post that called him a “good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’”
The Republican president also described Jackson as “very gregarious -Someone who truly loved people!”
“He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!” Trump wrote.
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