The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, one of the most enduring and influential figures in modern American history, has died at the age of 84. Jackson, a towering civil rights leader, Baptist minister, two-time presidential candidate and tireless advocate for racial and economic justice, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2026, surrounded by family, according to a statement from his loved ones and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded.
Jackson’s life was a testament to resilience forged in the crucible of the segregated South. Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, he first encountered the harsh realities of Jim Crow discrimination as a young man. His early protests against segregation — including participation with the so-called “Greenville Eight” who challenged his town’s whites-only library — shaped a worldview that would guide him for the next six decades.
A protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s, rising quickly through the ranks. He organized Operation Breadbasket, which pressured corporations to hire Black workers and invest in underserved communities, and became one of the most recognizable voices in the movement. He was with King in Memphis in 1968, mere hours before the civil rights leader’s assassination — an event he described as deeply traumatic but galvanizing.
After King’s death, Jackson led the SCLC’s efforts for several years before founding People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) in 1971, a Chicago-based organization aimed at economic justice, employment opportunities and education for Black Americans. PUSH later merged with the National Rainbow Coalition to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, becoming one of the most dynamic forces in civil and human rights advocacy.
Perhaps no chapter of his career was as groundbreaking — and at times polarizing — as his bids for the presidency. In 1984 and 1988, Jackson ran for the Democratic nomination, winning millions of votes and building a multi-racial movement he called the “Rainbow Coalition.” His famous declaration, “our time has come,” electrified politically disengaged voters and reshaped the very notion of who could compete for the highest office in the land. Though he never secured the nomination, his campaigns expanded minority participation in politics and helped lay foundational support for future leaders, including Barack Obama.
But Jackson’s legacy was not limited to electoral politics. He led voter registration drives, advocated for affordable health care, championed workers’ rights, and stood at the forefront of global human rights campaigns — from negotiating
hostage releases overseas to confronting apartheid South Africa. Throughout it all, he remained a masterful orator with a flair for memorable rhetoric that elevated the struggles of the marginalized into America’s national conscience.
Tributes poured in from across the political and social spectrum upon news of his death. Former presidents, civil rights leaders, political allies and even erstwhile rivals lauded Jackson as a “servant leader,” a moral force, and a “true giant” of justice whose legacy would endure. His message “Keep hope alive,” once a campaign refrain, became a rallying cry for a new generation of activists committed to carrying forward his mission.
Jackson’s struggle with health challenges in later years — including a long battle with progressive supranuclear palsy — never fully dimmed his public spirit. He continued to lend his voice to movements like Black Lives Matter and to broader debates
on peace, equity, and human dignity.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, six children, grandchildren and a global community of admirers whose lives he influenced. In the collective memory of the civil rights movement, Jesse Jackson’s life will be remembered not simply for the battles he fought, but for the many he inspired to take up the mantle of justice, long after him.
