Reverend Jesse Jackson, the influential US civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential hopeful, has died at the age of 84, his family announced. An eloquent Baptist minister and longtime activist, Jackson rose to prominence during the 1960s civil rights movement as a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr..
Jackson sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, mounting groundbreaking campaigns that mobilized Black voters and progressive coalitions, though he never secured the nomination. Decades later, fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama would become the first Black US president. Jackson also founded Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition, later merged as the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, advocating for racial justice, economic empowerment and social equality.
Beyond electoral politics, Jackson played a diplomatic role in securing the release of Americans detained overseas and served as a special envoy to Africa under President Bill Clinton. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000 for his contributions to civil rights and public service.
Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017, Jackson remained active in social justice causes, including protests against police brutality in 2020. His family described him as a "servant leader" devoted not only to his family but to "the oppressed, the voiceless and the overlooked" around the world.