The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the U.S.'s civil right movement over the last 50 years, passed away early Tuesday at the age of 84, his family has confirmed.
Jackson, who walked in the path of the Rev. Martin Luther King and served as a mentor to others like Rev. Al Sharpton, had been hospitalized in recent months.
"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 on the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition website. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
Leaders in the local African American community also weighed in on Jackson's passing. Angela Eady, the Kissimmee City Commission's lone Black member, called Rev. Jackson, "A civil rights icon called by God."
"May his legacy, movement and teachings continue to live on for generations," she said Tuesday.
Jennifer Paul won election in 2024 in St. Cloud. As the city's first African-American City Council member, she said she, "Deeply mourns the loss of a true legend."
"He was a steadfast advocate for equality and justice. Rev. Jesse Jackson’s unwavering dedication to the cause of justice will forever be etched in the annals of history," she said. "May his legacy continue to inspire generations.
Born on Oct. 8, 1941 in Greenville, S.C., Jackson's activism began early in his life, working alongside Dr. King. In the 1960s, during which he became an ordained minister, organizations he founded merged to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
In 1984, Reverend Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization based in Washington, D.C devoted to political empowerment, education and changing public policy. He made political pushes in the 1980s, as he ran and campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president in 1984 and 1988. Although Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis won those nominations, his 1988 campaign registered over two million new voters, won seven million votes, and helped boost hundreds of state and local elected officials into office.
In 1991, Reverend Jesse Jackson was elected Senator of Washington, D.C., advocating for statehood for the nation’s capital and advancing the “rainbow” agenda at the national and international levels. He continued to be a leading advocate for a variety of public policy issues, including universal health care, equal administration of justice in all communities, sufficient funding for enforcement of civil rights laws, and for increased attention to business investment in underserved domestic communities. On Aug. 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Reverend Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Rev. Jackson married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963 and is survived by five children: Santita Jackson, Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Esq., and Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Jr.
