The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, dies at 84 following illness

By Kate Murphy, Dylan Stableford

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime, preeminent civil rights leader in the United States, with deep roots in the Democratic Party, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 84.

Jackson was hospitalized in November after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a life-threatening neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease.

“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.,” his family said in a statement. “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,” his family added. “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 was born in Greenville, S.C., in 1941 and was an ordained Baptist minister. He later became known as a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Jackson emerged as a leading voice in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, fighting for causes ranging from economic and social justice to gender equality.

Jackson founded Operation PUSH in 1971, a civil rights organization based on Chicago’s South Side. It eventually evolved into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which Jackson served as president of until 2023, when he stepped down.

He was a central figure in the national Democratic Party for more than six decades. In 1984 and 1988, Jackson ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I was able to run for the presidency twice and redefine what was possible; it raised the lid for women and other people of color,” Jackson told the Associated Press in 2011. “Part of my job was to sow seeds of the possibilities.”

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 2000 for his efforts in successfully negotiating the 1999 release of three U.S. soldiers held in Yugoslavia.

In 2024, Jackson received a standing ovation on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago when he made a surprise appearance onstage in a wheelchair.

In recent years, Jackson experienced a series of health setbacks. He had been hospitalized on Nov. 12 and was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy or PSP, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. The organization disclosed that Jackson had been managing the disease for “more than a decade,” and that his PSP diagnosis was confirmed in April 2025.

PSP affects body movements, walking and balance, as well as eye movements, according to the National Institutes of Health. The exact cause of the rare disease is unknown, but research suggests that it may be caused by damage to nerve cells in specific parts of the brain, primarily in the brainstem.

PSP can be misdiagnosed early on as Parkinson’s disease. In 2015, Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but he waited until 2017 to publicly announce his diagnosis, addressing his supporters in a letter. “Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” Jackson said of his diagnosis, which he revealed had also “bested my father.”

In early 2021, Jackson had gall bladder surgery. He was then hospitalized in August 2021 after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized again in November of that year after he fell and hit his head at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Jackson is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Jacqueline Jackson, who is also a civil rights activist and six children: Jonathan Jackson, a U.S. representative from Illinois; Yusef Jackson, the COO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Jesse Jackson Jr., who served as a U.S. congressman for 17 years; Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr.; singer Santita Jackson; and actress Ashley Jackson, who he fathered with one of his Rainbow PUSH employees.

Arrangements are underway for Jackson’s memorial services, including public events that will be held in Chicago, his organization said.

Tributes and remembrances quickly poured in from people Jackson inspired.

“America has lost one of its great moral voices,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, said in a statement posted to social media. “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. As a kid growing up in public housing while watching him run for President, Rev. Jesse Jackson gave me a glimpse of what is possible and taught me to say, ‘I am somebody!’ As an adult, I was proud to call him a friend.”

“His legacy will remain a beacon for generations to come,” Warnock added, “and I pray it inspires us to continue the work he started.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, said Jackson was “a legendary voice for the voiceless, powerful civil rights champion and trailblazer extraordinaire.”

“For decades, while laboring in the vineyards of the community, he inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all,” Jeffries wrote in a post on X. “We are thankful for the incredible service of Rev. Jesse Jackson to the nation and his profound sacrifice as the people’s champion.”

Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., said Jackson “devoted his life to lifting people in poverty, the marginalized, and those pushed to society’s edges.”

“He was a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed,” she said in a statement. “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.”

Culled from Yahoo Daily News