US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson dies at 84
· DWProminent Baptist minister and longtime figure in the US civil rights movement Jesse Jackson has died. Jackson became a political force after working closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and running for president.
US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson died at the age of 84, US media reported on Tuesday, citing his family.
Jackson was a Baptist minister who rose to prominence as an associate of Martin Luther King Jr. and later became a major political figure, including through two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"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.
"We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and hope uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by."
Who was Jesse Jackson?
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson became one of the most recognizable leaders of the civil rights movement after King's assassination.
Over decades, he remained active in politics, advocacy, and public life and was known for combining religious leadership with political organizing.
Jackson twice sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. His campaigns expanded the visibility of progressive and minority political coalitions within the party.
He became a prominent voice on racial justice, economic inequality, and voting rights.
Jackson was a part of many key moments in the long struggle fo racial justice in the United States. He was with King in Memphis in 1968 when the civil rights leader was assassinated.
When Barack Obama celebrated his 2008 presidential election, he openly wept in the crowd. Jackson also stood with George Floyd's family in 2021 after an ex-police officer was convicted of the unarmed Black man's murder.
"My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised," Jackson told the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
Jackson emerged as a mediator and envoy and became a prominent advocate for ending apartheid in South Africa. In the 1990s, he served as presidential special envoy for Africa for then-US President Bill Clinton.
He also embarked on numerous missions to free US prisoners, taking him to Syria, Iraq and Serbia.
However, Jackson's ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, including his attendance at Chavez’s funeral in 2013, drew sharp criticism.
In 2017, Jackson revealed that he was battling Parkinson's disease and started to curtail his public engagements.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar