The Rev. Jesse Jackson died on Tuesday, after a decades-long struggle and political career in defense of the rights of African Americans, moving from Martin Luther King's marches to political platforms and international mediations that contributed to expanding the presence of black leaders in the United States.

Published on: 02/18/2026 - 03:32 Last updated: 02/18/2026 - 07:15

American Reverend Jesse Jackson, one of the most prominent symbols of the civil rights movement and one of the most influential black figures in the United States, died on Tuesday at the age of 84, his family announced in a statement. Jackson, a Baptist minister, has been famous for his leadership role since the 1960s, when he participated in Martin Luther King Jr. marches and contributed to raising funds for the cause of the rights of black Americans.

The family did not announce the cause of death, noting that Jackson revealed in 2017 that he had Parkinson's disease, while media reports stated that he was hospitalized last November due to another degenerative neurological condition.

In terms of political stances, former President Barack Obama mourned Jackson in a post on the X platform, saying, “We learned from his experiences,” giving him credit for laying the foundations that allowed him to become the first black president of the United States. Former President Joe Biden also said in a statement that Jackson "firmly believed" that all people are created equal and "was willing to work to save the soul of our nation."

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Republican President Donald Trump also praised Jackson despite his fluctuating positions on issues of race and civil rights. He described him on his platform, “Truth Social,” as “a force of nature unlike any other,” and described him as an attractive, sociable, and intelligent person who is good at dealing with all circumstances, claiming that he helped him before and after becoming president in his efforts to empower black Americans.

Jesse Jackson was born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, as Jesse Louis Burns to a teenage mother and a former professional boxer, and later took the surname of his stepfather, Charles Jackson. He used to say about his upbringing, “I was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth, but rather I was born with a shovel in my hand,” as he participated early in peaceful sit-ins and civil rights marches, and was alongside Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968 at the time of his assassination.

At the international level, he emerged as an advocate for ending apartheid in South Africa. In the 1990s, he assumed the position of special presidential envoy for Africa under Bill Clinton, and led mediations to free American prisoners in several countries. In 1996, he founded the “Rainbow Push Coalition” for social justice, and for years he remained the most prominent black figure to run for the US presidency after two failed attempts in the 1980s, before Barack Obama’s generation succeeded him, leaving behind a wife and six children.

France 24/AFP

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