Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights pillar dies at 84 years

Rev. Jesse Jackson, American civil rights movement figure who spent more than five decades at the forefront of political and social activism, has died at the age of 84.

In a statement, his family described him as “a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” adding that his belief in justice, equality and love uplifted millions.

No cause of death was disclosed, though Jackson had long battled progressive supranuclear palsy, initially diagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, and had been hospitalised twice with Covid-19 in recent years.

Born on 8 October 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson came of age in the segregated American South. A gifted athlete and student leader at Sterling High School, he earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois before transferring to North Carolina A&T State University.

There, he excelled as a quarterback, became student body president and intensified his activism, participating in sit-ins challenging segregation.

In 1960, he was among the “Greenville Eight” arrested for a peaceful protest at a whites-only public library — a case that helped lead to the library’s desegregation.

Jackson’s national prominence began in the 1960s when he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), working closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

After witnessing King’s assassination in Memphis in 1968, Jackson emerged as one of the movement’s most visible heirs. He led Operation Breadbasket, an SCLC initiative aimed at expanding economic opportunities for Black Americans through boycotts and corporate negotiations, and was later ordained as a minister.

In 1984, Jackson mounted a historic campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the first African American to win significant primary contests and build a broad, multiracial coalition. His 1988 bid went further, capturing more than seven million votes and reshaping the Democratic Party’s platform to include expanded voting rights, social justice and economic equity.

Though he fell short of the nomination both times, his campaigns paved the way for future candidates, including Barack Obama, who acknowledged Jackson’s role in making his own presidency possible.

Jackson institutionalised his activism through the Rainbow Coalition and later the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, organisations focused on educational access, economic inclusion and political empowerment. Over the years, the coalition provided millions of dollars in scholarships and assisted thousands of families facing foreclosure.

In later decades, Jackson remained a vocal advocate on issues ranging from healthcare disparities to systemic racism. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he condemned the disproportionate impact of the virus on African American communities and criticised what he described as America’s enduring “virus of white superiority.” Even amid shifting political tides, including the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jackson continued to call for multiracial coalitions grounded in moral conscience.

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, Jackson leaves behind a legacy interwoven with the modern history of American civil rights, a career marked by protest, pulpit and politics.