By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the civil rights giant and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC), has died at age 84. Family members made the announcement on Feb. 17.
The social and racial justice champion’s death follows battles with Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disorder affecting movement and balance. Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Jackson; their children— Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, and Jacqueline; daughter Ashley Jackson and grandchildren.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” said the Jackson family in their Feb. 17 statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
Born in Greenville, S.C. as Jesse Louis Burns on Oct. 8, 1941, the man who came to be known as Jesse Jackson rose to prominence as a close aide of Dr. King during the Civil Rights Movement. The son of a teenage Helen Jackson and her married neighbor, Noah Robinson, Jackson later would change his name after being adopted by his stepfather, Charles Henry Jackson.
Upon receiving a football scholarship, Jackson found himself at the University of Illinois in 1959. While there, Jackson became a member of the Pi Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. in 1960. Ultimately, he would transfer and become a 1964 graduate of North Carolina A&T University, the historically Black college located in Greensboro, N.C. While still in college, Jackson began to appear in the AFRO Archives as a student leader and activist. He became a protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1965 and later created Operation PUSH in 1971, which focused on economic empowerment and expanding education, business and employment opportunities for Black communities.
In 1996, Operation PUSH merged with the National Rainbow Coalition to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, cementing Jackson’s legacy as a steadfast advocate for racial, economic and social justice.
Jackson made history as a political trailblazer, running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. His campaigns registered millions of new voters and inspired generations of Black political leaders. They also helped broaden the national conversation on civil rights and progressive policies from economic equity and labor rights to universal healthcare and anti-poverty initiatives.
Throughout his career, Jackson also served as an international diplomat, negotiating the release of hostages and advocating for democracy and human rights worldwide. He was widely recognized with honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Bill Clinton in 2000, over 40 honorary doctorates and numerous awards for his work in civil rights, nonviolent resistance and political activism.
Just months before his death, Jackson was hospitalized for nearly two weeks at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for observation related to the neurological disorder, PSP. During that stay, he spent several days in the intensive care unit. In 2013 it was disclosed that Jackson was living with Parkinson’s disease. His diagnosis was updated to PSP in April 2025.
In the wake of his death, leaders and community members have shared reflections on Jackson’s enduring impact and the legacy he leaves behind.
Chrissy Thornton, president and CEO for Baltimore-based Associated Black Charities (ABC), said Jackson’s example has served as a guiding force for generations of leaders, including herself.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy stands as one of the fiercest reminders that the fight for civil rights is not only about changing laws, but about expanding the horizon of what Black people believe is possible,” said Thornton. “His leadership in the movement— from the frontline activism of Operation PUSH to the transformative vision of the Rainbow Coalition— fundamentally reshaped how this nation understands multiracial democracy and economic justice. He pushed the country to reckon not only with racism, but with poverty, inequity and the structural barriers that keep communities from thriving.”
Thornton said she is reminded of his contributions everyday as she carries out ABC’s mission of dismantling structural racism, expanding opportunity and advancing generational wealth.
“Rev. Jackson paved the road so that someone like me could be ready to pick up the mantle— to lead, to advocate, to fight for justice and to ensure that the movement he helped build continues with strength, clarity and unshakeable hope,” said Thornton.
Faith leaders across the region are also reflecting on Jackson’s generational impact and the unique role he played in shaping modern social and racial justice work.
Longtime Baltimore-based activist Rev. Cortly “C.D.” Witherspoon said the reverend served as a bridge between architects of the Civil Rights Movement, like Dr. King and Whitney Young, and the leaders who followed.
“Because he sat at the feet of the elders he possessed insights and connections his contemporaries weren’t privileged to,” said Witherspoon. “In King, Rev. Jackson found Moses and in Rev. Jackson, Dr. King discovered Joshua.”
Witherspoon recalled Jackson’s ability to mobilize young people and connect national movements to local communities, pointing to a pivotal moment during the Iraq War. In 2003, he said Jackson came to Coppin State University (CSU) to help organize students for a protest in Washington, D.C. He helped assemble young people from CSU and Morgan State University for a march in the nation’s capital alongside civil rights leaders Andrew Young and Walter Fauntroy.
For Witherspoon, Jackson’s influence was both historical and deeply personal.
“I grew up reading about his work with King; his inspirational runs for the U.S. presidency that cleared the way for the election of transformational leaders and ‘first Blacks’ all over the U.S.; and his hostage negotiation skills that made him not just a leader, but liberator,” said Witherspoon. “Having the opportunity to meet him and be in his presence for even a relatively short time in my life was a memorable experience, which became etched into the crevices of my carnal heart.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights leader and president of the National Action Network (NAN), remembered Jackson as both a mentor and a moral compass, whose leadership shaped his own path.
“Today, I grieve not only a leader, but the steady voice that guided me when the road was uncertain. I am heartbroken. But, I am eternally grateful that God allowed me to walk beside a man who helped bend the arc of history and shaped the arc of my own life,” said Sharpton, in a Feb. 17 statement. “Today we mourn, but we do not retreat. We pray for the Jackson family to carry the torch. The greatest way to honor Reverend Jesse Jackson is not in memory alone, but in movement. He taught us to keep marching. He taught us to keep organizing. He taught us that justice is never given, it is demanded.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore extended his condolences to the Jackson family in a statement issued on Feb. 17. In it, he dubbed Jackson a “champion for the dignity of working people.”
“Of the many shoulders that we stand on, Jesse Jackson’s were amongst the broadest. He led with love and reminded all of us of our voice and our power. Reverend Jackson was a trailblazer who never waited for permission or to ask for a seat at the table—he insisted on it, and he widened that table for generations to come,” said Moore in the statement. “Reverend Jackson spent his life turning pain into purpose and protest into progress and organizing communities to make those promises real.”
Public observances for Jackson will take place in Chicago, with details about his celebration of life to be shared by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition on www.rainbowpush.org and www.jessejacksonlegacy.com.
