Chicago: Rev. Jesse Jackson, the towering figure who carried the civil rights torch after Martin Luther King Jr., has died at age 84. The family announced his peaceful passing this morning, surrounded by loved ones at home.
Jesse Jackson died on February 17, 2026, after battling health challenges in recent years. He had been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy earlier this year, a serious neurological disorder that affected his movement and speech. In his final months, he communicated mainly through hand squeezes, yet his legacy of relentless advocacy endured.
A protégé of Dr. King, Jesse Jackson was present during the 1968 assassination in Memphis. He helped lead the movement forward, founding Operation Breadbasket and later Operation PUSH—now Rainbow/PUSH Coalition—to fight for economic justice, voting rights, jobs, and corporate accountability for Black communities.
Jesse Jackson ran boldly for president in 1984 and 1988, building the Rainbow Coalition that united minorities, working-class whites, farmers, and progressives. In 1988, he won 13 primaries, reshaping Democratic politics on issues of racial inequality, poverty, and social justice.
Tributes poured in quickly. Rev. Al Sharpton called Jesse Jackson a “movement unto himself,” praising his teaching that protest needs purpose and justice is daily work. The family described him as a servant leader shared with the world, saying, “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
One notable moment from Jesse Jackson’s career resurfaced today: In 2008, caught on a hot mic, he criticized then-candidate Barack Obama for “talking down to black people” in a Father’s Day speech and made a crude remark about wanting to “cut off” his manhood. Jackson later apologized, and Obama accepted, highlighting generational tensions in the fight for equality.
Jesse Jackson’s slogans—“Keep Hope Alive,” “I am Somebody”—inspired generations. Though illness limited him later, he remained a vital link to the civil rights era until the end. America mourns a true pathfinder today.