Jesse Jackson demise newest: Family launch assertion after civil rights icon dies aged 84 | EUROtoday
Civil rights chief Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Baptist minister and ally of Dr Martin Luther King Jr who twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died at age 84, his household stated in an announcement Tuesday.
“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 household stated.
Jackson was identified with Parkinson’s illness in 2017 and has struggled together with his well being in current months.
The reverend had advocated for the rights of Black Americans and different marginalized communities for the reason that civil rights motion of the Nineteen Sixties, which he had spearheaded together with his mentor, Dr. King, a fellow minister and towering social activist.
He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, attracting Black voters and plenty of white liberals in two sturdy campaigns that in the end fell brief at a time when Ronald Reagan dominated the political scene.
Jackson based the Chicago-based civil rights teams Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition and served as Democratic president Bill Clinton’s particular envoy to Africa within the Nineties.
Watch: Jesse Jackson’s most iconic speeches
Here’s a have a look at a few of Jackson’s most interesting public addresses.

Jesse Jackson’s most iconic speeches as civil rights icon dies aged 84
Jesse Jackson, longtime civil rights chief and two-time presidential candidate, has died on the age of 84. Announcing his demise, his household paid tribute to Jackson as a “servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world”. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson grew to become well-known for his participating and rousing speeches that championed racial equality. From his call-and-response chant, referred to as “I Am Somebody”, which inspired folks to uplift themselves, to his “Rainbow Coalition” speech, which advocated for a broad alliance of marginalised teams, The Independent takes a have a look at a few of Jackson’s most iconic speeches.
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 12:25
Al Sharpton: ‘My mentor has passed’
Here’s a really shifting tribute from the Rev. Al Sharpton, who knew Jackson for many years.
“My mentor, Rev. Jesse Jackson, has passed.
“I just prayed with his family by phone. He was a consequential and transformative leader who changed this nation and the world. He shaped public policy and changed laws. He kept the dream alive and taught young children from broken homes, like me, that we don’t have broken spirits.”

Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 12:10
America wakes as much as information of Jackson’s demise
It’s nonetheless very early within the U.S. and we will anticipate tributes to Jackson to return flooding in from the political institution because the day progresses however right here’s some preliminary remembrances of the nice campaigner.
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 11:55
Jackson’s tears as Obama made historical past
Another memorable second in Jackson’s profession got here after he endorsed Barack Obama’s marketing campaign and went on to see the younger Democrat make historical past by grow to be the primary Black U.S. president in 2008.
Watching Obama’s acceptance speech in Grant Park, Chicago,, Jackson was seen with tears in his eyes.
“You know, I was crying. We saw on the screen that he had won. And I thought about the moment. The movement.
“Those who could not make it to Chicago. The people who made that night possible – they were not there. They couldn’t make it,” Jackson stated of Obama’s successful night time in dialog with Vanity Fair in 2020.
“I wish they could have been there. Dr. King and Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer. People who’d paid the supreme price,” he stated.
“If God had let them live just 15 seconds more to see the fruits of their labor.”

Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 11:40
How Jackson befriended Dr Martin Luther King
While attending North Carolina A&T State University in 1960, Jesse Jackson grew to become lively within the establishment’s burgeoning civil rights motion, becoming a member of his native Congress of Racial Equality chapter and taking a management position in organizing sit-ins.
Among these was an illustration he organized on July 16, 1960, on the “whites only” Greenville County Public Library, which might later land Jackson and 7 different Black college students with the nickname the “Greenville Eight.”
As a results of that protest, the library closed down its segregated branches and later opened a single built-in one, attracting the eye of Dr King.
While learning theology on the Chicago Theological Seminary, Jackson was recruited by King to be an organizer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the older man quickly appointed him director of the Operation Breadbasket program, devoted to enhancing the financial situations of Black communities.
At 27, Jackson was a rising voice within the motion and regarded by many as a contender to grow to be MLK’s successor.

But King’s assassination modified the way forward for the SCLC and Jackson’s place inside it. Jackson was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, and remained haunted by the tragedy for the remainder of his life.
“Every time I think about it, it’s like pulling a scab off a sore,” he stated of the killing in a 2018 interview with The Guardian.
“It’s a hurtful, painful thought: that a man of love is killed by hate; that a man of peace should be killed by violence; a man who cared is killed by the careless.”

Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 11:25
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 11:05
Obituary: The civil rights icon who constructed on mentor Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and impressed a era
Here’s Ariana Baio with a glance again at Jackson’s extraordinary life.
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 10:45
‘His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity’
Here’s the Jackson household’s assertion in full:
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.
“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. A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilising millions to register to vote – leaving an indelible mark on history.
“Reverend Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; their children – Santita, Jesse Jr, Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline; daughter Ashley Jackson, and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Burns Jackson; father, Noah Louis Robinson; and stepfather, Charles Henry Jackson.
“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. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honour his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.
“Public observances will be held in Chicago. Final arrangements for Reverend Jackson’s celebration of life services, including all public events, will be released by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.”
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 10:41
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies at 84
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the legendary civil rights activist and two-time presidential candidate, has handed away Tuesday aged 84, his household has stated in an announcement.
A reason for demise was not instantly given however Jackson’s household stated he died peacefully surrounded by family members.
Here’s our breaking report from Craig Hoyle.
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 10:35
Hello and welcome
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s dwell protection of the unhappy passing of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson, who has died on the age of 84, his household has introduced.
Tributes are already flooding in for Jackson, an ally of Dr Martin Luther King within the Nineteen Sixties and a tireless champion of the marginalized within the United States.
Joe Sommerlad17 February 2026 10:30
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jesse-jackson-death-tributes-latest-b2921797.html