The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in civil rights for over five decades and a significant contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, has passed away at the age of 84. His family released a statement honoring him as a "servant leader" who championed the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked globally, asking for his memory to be honored by continuing the fight for justice, equality, and love. While no specific cause of death was given, Jackson had been battling progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) for more than a decade, having been initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He also faced two hospitalizations for Covid in recent years.

A fixture in the civil rights movement and Democratic politics since the 1960s, Jackson was born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina. His early life was shaped by the segregated South, where he quickly became involved in activism. He was elected class president at the all-Black Sterling high school, excelling in athletics and earning a football scholarship to the University of Illinois in 1959. Despite an offer from the Chicago White Sox for baseball, he chose to focus on his education. During a winter break in 1960, he was famously denied a book at the white-only Greenville public library. This experience led him and seven other Black high school students, known as the Greenville Eight, to stage a peaceful protest at the library, resulting in their arrest for disorderly conduct. A judge ultimately ruled in their favor, leading to the integration of the Greenville library system later that year.

After his freshman year, Jackson transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, a historically Black institution. There, he played football as a quarterback, became a national officer for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and was elected student body president. He pursued a sociology degree while continuing his activism through sit-ins at local restaurants. Jackson often credited his leadership skills to his athletic background, noting how playing quarterback taught him to assess defenses, motivate his team, and play to his strengths.

His connection with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would become his mentor, began in the early 1960s. King, having observed Jackson’s student activism, eventually offered him a position with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) after being impressed by his leadership during the Selma movement in 1965, following the brutal events of Bloody Sunday. Jackson enrolled at the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1964 but put his studies on hold to dedicate himself to SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, an economic justice program that leveraged Black churches to pressure companies into employing more Black people through boycotts and negotiations. By 1967, Jackson became the program's national director and was ordained as a minister a year later, earning high praise from King himself for his exceptional work.

Tragically, Jackson was present at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, witnessing King's assassination from below the balcony. This profoundly painful experience remained with him throughout his life, symbolizing the struggle of love against hate and peace against violence. Following King's death, Jackson continued with SCLC until 1971, when he founded his own organization, People United to Save Humanity (Push), aimed at improving the economic conditions of Black communities. Push organized reading programs for Black youth, helped them secure jobs, and encouraged corporations to hire more Black managers and executives.

Jackson made history in 1984 by running for president as a Democratic candidate, becoming the second Black person, after Shirley Chisholm, to launch a nationwide campaign. At the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, he passionately articulated his vision for a humane, just, and peaceful nation, calling for a mission to address hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, and joblessness, prioritizing the human race over the nuclear race. Although he lost the nomination to Walter Mondale, his campaign galvanized thousands of new Black voters and led to the creation of the National Rainbow Coalition, focused on voting rights and social programs. This organization later merged with Push to form the Rainbow Push Coalition, a multiracial group dedicated to educational and economic equality, which has since provided millions in college scholarships and helped thousands of families facing foreclosures. In 1988, Jackson mounted a second strong presidential campaign, ultimately losing to Michael Dukakis. Years later, Barack Obama, the first Black president, would acknowledge Jackson's pivotal role in paving the way for his own historic victory.

Throughout his career, Jackson was a tireless advocate for various causes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he highlighted stark disparities in care and outcomes for African Americans, linking them to centuries of systemic discrimination and asserting that past presidents had failed to eradicate the “virus of white superiority.” His efforts extended to addressing specific local issues, such as the 1993 Long Island Rail Road mass shooting, where he called for calm, cautioned against retribution, and advocated for gun control, urging that guns should be bought, burned, and banned. He also continued to engage in political discourse, supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 and emphasizing the importance of focusing on substantive voter issues like wage stagnation, student debt, and international relations rather than political entertainment.

Jackson’s influence transcended national borders. He was intimately connected to the battle for racial equality in the UK, where he campaigned for decades against institutional racism and economic, health, and criminal justice inequalities. Diane Abbott, the UK’s first Black female MP, described him as a “direct connection to the great era of civil rights” and remembered him as “very smart, warm and hugely charismatic.” In 2007, his nine-city “Equanomics” tour across the UK, including a packed event in Manchester, marked the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. During this tour, he consistently emphasized the inseparable link between economic, racial, and social justice, highlighting the shared experiences and creditor status of African descendant communities in the UK and America. He was a constant source of encouragement for Black British communities during times of struggle, flying from the US to stand in solidarity with those affected by uprisings and injustices. He famously urged Margaret Thatcher to abandon UK support for apartheid in South Africa, participating in a massive Trafalgar Square protest for Nelson Mandela’s freedom. Jackson also supported the genesis of UK Black History Month and remained a long-term backer of Operation Black Vote, advocating for unity and equality, and inspiring increased political representation for minority groups in the UK. In 2000, President Bill Clinton honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, recognizing his decades of work in expanding opportunities for people of color. Carrying forward King’s vision, Jackson believed in multiracial, multicultural coalitions of conscience and reminded everyone that while the