Jesse Jackson, pastor, civil rights leader and two‑time Democratic presidential candidate who helped carry the torch from Martin Luther King Jr. to the Obama era, has died at 84. His family said Jackson “died peacefully” on Tuesday surrounded by loved ones, after more than a decade of health challenges that included Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.
A protégé of King, Jackson was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when King was assassinated in 1968 and went on to found Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, using his pulpit and organizing skills to push for voting rights, economic justice and multiracial political power. His 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns broke ground as serious national bids by a Black candidate, registering millions of new voters and helping pave the way for later figures like Barack Obama.
Tributes have poured in from across politics and culture, with figures from Donald Trump and Joe Biden to Bernice King calling him a “role model for a generation” and a “fighter for justice” whose oratory and coalition‑building reshaped Democratic politics. Public memorials are expected in Chicago, where Jackson based much of his work and received a final standing ovation at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, when a frail but smiling Jackson was honored on the floor. For a deeper dive into his life and legacy, see NPR’s obituary of Jackson.
