17/02/2026
Influential civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and two-time presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson passed away Tuesday at 84. đïž
He was a major figure in the civil rights movement and spent decades pushing for racial justice, economic equity, voting rights in the U.S.
Jackson helped shape the movementâs next chapter after Martin Luther King Jr.âs assassination, later founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. In a statement, the organization said, âIt is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.,â adding that âHe died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family.â
Jackson changed the trajectory of American politics, paving the way for leaders like Barack Obama through his historic presidential runs in 1984 and 1988, which expanded conversations around poverty, race, and power.
âThe great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near-poor back on front of the American agenda,â Jackson said years later. âThis is a dangerous mission, and yet itâs a necessary mission!â