The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Baptist minister, civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential candidate whose voice helped shape American politics for more than five decades, has died at 84.

Jackson’s family confirmed his death Tuesday, saying he passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones.

“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.

A cause of death was not immediately released. Jackson had been living for more than a decade with progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He publicly revealed in 2017 that he had Parkinson’s disease.

Public observances will be held in Chicago, and additional celebration of life events will be announced by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the family said.

From Greenville to the National Stage

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to prominence during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He participated in demonstrations alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march in Alabama.

Jackson attended North Carolina A&T State University, graduating with a degree in sociology, and later studied at Chicago Theological Seminary. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked closely with King.

King praised Jackson’s leadership of Operation Breadbasket, the SCLC’s economic development initiative. “We knew he was going to do a good job, but he’s done better than a good job,” King said of Jackson’s work.

Jackson was in Memphis, Tennessee, when King was assassinated in 1968. In the years that followed, he expanded his activism beyond traditional civil rights organizing.

Founding PUSH and Building the Rainbow Coalition

In 1971, Jackson founded People United to Save Humanity, known as PUSH, after resigning from the SCLC. The organization focused on improving economic conditions in Black communities and later expanded into political advocacy and direct action campaigns.

His 1984 presidential bid led to the creation of the National Rainbow Coalition, which opposed the policies of President Ronald Reagan and advocated for voting rights, affirmative action and expanded social programs.

Jackson’s first run for the Democratic nomination in 1984 resulted in more than 18% of the primary vote and several primary and caucus victories. A 1984 New York Times profile noted his impact, stating: “Merely by being black and forcing other candidates to consider his very real potential to garner black votes, which they need, Jackson has had an impact.”

In 1988, Jackson expanded that support, winning 11 primaries and caucuses and cementing his role as a major national political figure.

“The great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near-poor back on front of the American agenda,” Jackson said of the 1984 campaign in a 1996 interview with PBS. “This is a dangerous mission, and yet it’s a necessary mission!”

Controversy and Redemption

Jackson’s 1984 campaign was marred by controversy when he referred to Jewish people as “hymies” and called New York City “hymietown” in a Washington Post interview. He initially denied the remarks but later admitted to using the slur and offered an apology.

Despite the controversy, Jackson remained a powerful presence in national politics and civil rights advocacy.

In 1991, he was elected as one of Washington, D.C.’s “shadow senators,” serving one term while advocating for D.C. statehood.

Diplomatic Efforts and Presidential Recognition

Beyond domestic activism, Jackson played a role in international diplomacy. In 1984, he helped secure the release of a U.S. Navy pilot held in Syria. That same year, he aided in the release of at least 16 Americans detained in Cuba.

In 1990, he negotiated the release of 700 women and children from Iraq. In 1999, he secured the freedom of three U.S. soldiers held in Yugoslavia.

President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000 in recognition of those efforts.

Tributes Across the Political Spectrum

Leaders from across the political spectrum paid tribute following Jackson’s death.

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton said, “our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices,” adding that Jackson “carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Jackson “a legendary voice for the voiceless” who “inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all.”

Former President Joe Biden said, “I’ve known Reverend Jackson as history will remember him: a man of God and of the people. Determined and tenacious. Unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our Nation.”

President Donald Trump wrote that Jackson “was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom Jackson endorsed in 2020, previously said, “It is one of the honors of my life to be supported by a man who has put his life on the line for the last 50 years fighting for justice.”

A Legacy of Activism

Jackson married Jacqueline Brown in 1962. She survives him, along with their five children, including former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

For decades, Jackson’s slogan “Keep hope alive” became synonymous with his message of empowerment and political participation. Whether organizing protests, negotiating hostage releases, or campaigning for the presidency, Jackson remained a visible and sometimes polarizing figure in American life.

His work spanned civil rights, economic justice, voting rights and international diplomacy.

With his passing, the nation loses a central figure of the post–civil rights era — a minister who turned moral appeals into political campaigns and grassroots organizing into national movements.

Jackson’s influence on American politics and civil rights will continue to shape conversations about justice, equality and representation for generations to come.

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