Civil Rights Pioneer Rev. Jesse Jackson Dies at 84
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CHICAGO / February 17, 2026 / BPALiveWire - The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a prominent civil rights leader who worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., founded influential social justice organizations and twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, died Tuesday in Chicago. He was 84.
His family and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition said Jackson died peacefully Tuesday morning surrounded by family after a long illness. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017, and his condition was later identified as progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurodegenerative disorder.
Born Jesse Louis Burns on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson grew up under segregation and rose to national prominence during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He attended North Carolina A&T State University, where he became active in student protests, later earning a sociology degree. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1968 after studying at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Jackson joined King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later led Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, pressing corporations to hire Black workers and support Black-owned businesses. In 1971, he founded Operation PUSH, which later merged into the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, focusing on voter registration, education and economic empowerment.
A global figure, Jackson was involved in high-profile diplomatic efforts, including helping secure the release of U.S. captives in Syria and Cuba in the 1980s.
Jackson made history with Democratic presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, winning several primaries and expanding Black voter participation nationwide. He later served as a District of Columbia shadow senator, advocating for statehood.
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, Jackson is widely credited with helping pave the way for a new generation of political leaders.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, whom he married in 1962, and their five children, including former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
