The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of America’s leading civil rights figures and a two-time presidential candidate, has died at the age of 84, his family announced Tuesday.
Jackson’s family said 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,” they said in a statement. “A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote — leaving an indelible mark on history.”
Jackson’s health had sharply declined in recent weeks. He announced in 2017 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and was recently diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative condition similar to Parkinson’s. Reports emerged in November 2025 that Jackson was placed on life support.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson was a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was famously at King’s side moments after the civil rights pioneer was assassinated on the balcony of a Memphis motel in 1968.
After King’s death, Jackson fell out with Ralph Abernathy, King’s successor as chairman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and went on to found the groups that would merge to form the Rainbow/PUSH organization, which promote civil rights and political activism throughout the United States.
The group established a headquarters in Chicago and that became Jackson’s base of operations as he increasingly gained influence in the Democratic Party, successfully taking on powerful Mayor Richard Daley in a dispute over delegate seating at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami. As leader of Rainbow/PUSH, he continued to advocate for voting rights, lead boycotts of companies for alleged discrimination and generally push for more Black, female and minority representation in all walks of public life.
Jackson launched a groundbreaking campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, winding up in third place in the delegate count behind former Vice President Walter Mondale and Colorado Sen. Gary Hart. Jackson was given a prime-time spot to address that summer’s Demonstration convention and delivered an electrifying speech that set him up for another run in 1988.
Jackson’s 1988 campaign garnered even more votes and mainstream media attention, as he seriously challenged the front-runner, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, for the nomination. Jackson won primaries in several deep South states and in Michigan, but eventually lost the nomination decisively to Dukakis.
Jackson’s activities were not confined to domestic politics. In 1983, he negotiated with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to secure the release of a captured American pilot, Navy Lt. Robert Goodman. He followed that up in 1984 by negotiating the release of 22 Americans being held in Cuba after an invitation by Cuban president Fidel Castro.
Jackson continued serving as an advocate for progressive policies and self-determination among urban youth in the 1990s. He traveled to Los Angeles after the deadly 1992 riots sparked by the acquittal of four policemen in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, pleading for both justice in the courts and peace in the streets.
He also hosted the public affairs show “Both Sides with Jesse Jackson” on CNN from 1992 to 2000.
As the 2008 presidential election got underway in 2007, Jackson endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, then watched with a mixture of pride and jealousy as Obama became America’s first Black president. Jackson had clashed with Obama at times during the campaign for trying to appeal too much to the political center in his view, but the image of a tearful Jackson at Obama’s election-night victory speech went viral and confirmed that the weight of a historic moment in U.S. history that Jackson himself helped to make possible wasn’t lost on the reverend.
Jackson was often a lightning rod for controversy. Some in King’s inner circle questioned the accuracy of his often-repeated statement that King “died in my arms.”
He earned the enmity of many in the Jewish community for referring to New York City as “Hymietown” in remarks to a Washington Post reporter during the 1984 presidential campaign.
In January 2001, news emerged that Jackson had an affair with a staff member that resulted in the birth of a daughter.
Jackson had five children with his wife Jacqueline Lavinia Brown. One of them, Jesse Jackson Jr., served in Congress as the representative from Illinois’ 2nd congressional district from 1995 until he resigned in 2012 amid an investigation into financial improprieties.
His oldest daughter Santita Jackson is a singer who has toured with Roberta Flack and performed the National Anthem at President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration.
Jackson stepped down as leader of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023 due to his age and health issues.