Chicago: US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, a longtime campaigner who participated in the 1988 Democratic presidential race, has passed away, his family announced on Tuesday. He was 84.
According to Anadolu Agency, Jackson's family released a statement saying, "Our father was a servant leader - not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world." They expressed their gratitude for sharing him with the world and emphasized his enduring commitment to justice, equality, and love, which inspired millions. The family urged people to honor his memory by continuing to fight for the values he championed.
The family did not disclose the cause of death but mentioned that Jackson died peacefully surrounded by loved ones. He had been hospitalized in November and had lived for over a decade with progressive supranuclear palsy, as reported by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded.
Public observances are planned in Chicago, with additional celebration-of-life events to be announced by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson was a significant figure in the civil rights movement and Democratic politics since the 1960s, having been a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1984, he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the second Black candidate to conduct a nationwide campaign after Shirley Chisholm.
Following his presidential run, Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition to promote voting rights and social programs. This organization later merged in the mid-1990s into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which focuses on educational and economic equality.
In recognition of his decades-long work in expanding opportunities for people of color, then-President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
US President Donald Trump extended his condolences to Jackson's family and described him as "a force of nature," commending his personality and extensive record of activism. He noted that it was a "pleasure" to support Jackson over the years, including providing office space for his Rainbow Coalition.