Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson
Born	Jesse Louis Burns 8 10, 1941
Birthplace	Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Template:Hlist
Known for	Civil rights activism, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns
Education	North Carolina A&T State University (B.S.) Chicago Theological Seminary
Spouse(s)	Jacqueline Lavinia Brown (m. 1962)
Children	6
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000)

Jesse Louis Jackson (born Jesse Louis Burns; October 8, 1941 – February 17, 2026) was an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician who emerged as one of the most prominent figures in the African-American freedom struggle during the latter half of the twentieth century. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during the civil rights movement, Jackson built upon their legacy to become a forceful advocate for social justice, economic equality, and political empowerment across several decades of American public life. He founded the organizations that merged to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, and served as a shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. His presidential campaigns expanded the boundaries of American electoral politics and mobilized millions of new voters. An ordained minister, diplomat, television host, and activist, Jackson occupied a singular position in American civic life for more than half a century. He died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84 in Chicago, Illinois.

Early Life

Jesse Louis Burns was born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, a teenager at the time of his birth, and Noah Louis Robinson, a married man who lived next door to the Burns family. His mother later married Charles Henry Jackson, a postal worker, who legally adopted the boy. Jesse took his stepfather's surname and grew up in the Jackson household.

Growing up in the racially segregated South, Jackson experienced the indignities of Jim Crow laws from an early age. Greenville in the 1940s and 1950s was a deeply divided city, with separate facilities for Black and white residents extending to schools, libraries, restaurants, and public transportation. These experiences shaped Jackson's consciousness and fueled his later activism. As a young man in Greenville, he was among eight Black students who staged a sit-in at the whites-only Greenville County Public Library, an early act of civil disobedience that foreshadowed his lifelong commitment to direct action against racial injustice.

Jackson excelled both academically and athletically during his youth. He attended Sterling High School in Greenville, where he was a standout football player. His athletic abilities earned him a football scholarship, which became his pathway to higher education and, ultimately, to the broader world of civil rights activism that would define his career.

Education

Jackson initially attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship but transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (North Carolina A&T) in Greensboro, North Carolina, a historically Black college. At North Carolina A&T, he became involved in the civil rights movement, participating in sit-ins and demonstrations aimed at desegregating public facilities in Greensboro. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology.

After graduating from North Carolina A&T, Jackson enrolled at the Chicago Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, where he pursued theological studies. He did not complete his seminary degree at that time, as his growing involvement in the civil rights movement drew him away from his studies. He was later ordained as a Baptist minister. The Chicago Theological Seminary eventually awarded him an honorary degree, and Jackson's theological training informed his oratorical style and moral framework throughout his public career.

Career

Civil Rights Movement and Early Activism

Jackson's career as a civil rights activist began in earnest during the early 1960s, when he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization led by Martin Luther King Jr. He quickly distinguished himself as an energetic and charismatic organizer. King recognized Jackson's talents and appointed him to lead the Chicago branch of Operation Breadbasket, the SCLC's economic arm, in 1966. Operation Breadbasket used boycotts and negotiation to pressure white-owned businesses to hire African Americans and stock products from Black-owned companies.

Jackson was present at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. King's death was a transformative event for Jackson and the broader civil rights movement. In the aftermath, Jackson continued his work with the SCLC but increasingly sought to chart his own course.

In 1971, Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago. The organization focused on economic empowerment for African Americans, advocating for job opportunities, business development, and educational improvement. Through Operation PUSH, Jackson organized boycotts of major corporations, negotiated agreements to increase minority hiring and contracting, and became a nationally recognized figure in the fight for economic justice.

Jackson also launched PUSH-Excel, an initiative focused on motivating young African Americans to stay in school, avoid drugs, and pursue academic achievement. His speeches to young people, often delivered in schools and community centers, emphasized personal responsibility alongside systemic change, a dual message that became a hallmark of his public philosophy.

Rainbow Coalition and National Political Rise

In 1984, Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a political organization designed to build a broad, multiracial, multi-issue progressive coalition. The Rainbow Coalition brought together African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, family farmers, the poor, working-class whites, members of the LGBTQ community, and other groups that Jackson argued were marginalized by the policies of the Reagan administration.

In 1996, the National Rainbow Coalition merged with Operation PUSH to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, headquartered in Chicago. The combined organization continued Jackson's dual emphasis on economic empowerment and political mobilization, conducting voter registration drives, advocating for corporate diversity, and organizing around issues of social justice.

1984 Presidential Campaign

Jackson announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, becoming only the second African American (after Shirley Chisholm in 1972) to mount a major national campaign for the presidency. Initially viewed by many political observers as a fringe candidate, Jackson ran on a progressive platform that called for a nuclear freeze, increased social spending, reversing Reaganomics, and establishing a Palestinian homeland alongside the state of Israel.

The campaign registered hundreds of thousands of new voters, particularly in African-American communities across the South. Jackson won primaries and caucuses in several states and ultimately finished third in the delegate count behind former Vice President Walter Mondale and Senator Gary Hart. He received approximately 3.5 million votes in the primaries.

The 1984 campaign was not without controversy. Jackson drew criticism for referring to New York City as "Hymietown" in a conversation with a Washington Post reporter, a remark widely condemned as antisemitic. Jackson apologized for the comment, but it strained his relationship with the Jewish community and remained a point of contention throughout his career.

Despite these controversies, the 1984 campaign established Jackson as a significant force in Democratic politics. His speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco was a landmark moment in American political oratory, in which he called on Americans to "keep hope alive" and urged the Democratic Party to embrace its diverse constituencies.

1988 Presidential Campaign

Jackson mounted a second presidential campaign in 1988, running a more disciplined and organizationally sophisticated operation than his 1984 effort. He expanded his coalition, winning support not only from African Americans but also from white progressives, labor unions, and family farmers. He won several early primary contests, including a notable victory in the Michigan caucuses, and briefly became the Democratic frontrunner.

Jackson ultimately finished as the runner-up for the Democratic nomination, behind Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. He received approximately seven million votes in the primaries and won eleven state contests, a remarkable achievement that demonstrated the viability of a progressive, multiracial political coalition. His strong performance led to considerable discussion about whether he should be offered the vice-presidential nomination, but Dukakis selected Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate.

The 1988 campaign cemented Jackson's status as one of the most influential figures in the Democratic Party. His voter registration efforts contributed to increased African-American political participation that yielded results in subsequent election cycles, and his platform influenced the party's positions on issues ranging from healthcare to South African apartheid.

Shadow Senator for the District of Columbia

In 1990, Jackson was elected as one of the District of Columbia's first shadow senators, an unpaid lobbying position created to advocate for D.C. statehood. He served in this capacity from January 3, 1991, to January 3, 1997, during the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In this role, Jackson lobbied members of Congress and the executive branch on behalf of D.C. statehood and full voting representation for the district's residents. He was succeeded in the position by Paul Strauss.

International Diplomacy

Jackson expanded his activism into international affairs beginning in the 1980s, undertaking diplomatic missions that often placed him at the center of global controversies. He traveled to Syria in 1984 and successfully negotiated the release of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman Jr., who had been shot down and captured during a bombing mission over Lebanon. The mission drew national attention and demonstrated Jackson's capacity for personal diplomacy.

He also traveled to Cuba, where he met with Fidel Castro, and to Iraq, where he negotiated the release of American hostages. These diplomatic forays were sometimes controversial, with critics arguing that Jackson overstepped his role as a private citizen, but supporters credited him with achieving concrete humanitarian results where official diplomacy had failed. He was a vocal critic of apartheid in South Africa and advocated for international sanctions against the apartheid regime.

Television and Media

From 1992 to 2000, Jackson hosted Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN, a political talk show in which he interviewed newsmakers and debated current events. The program gave Jackson a regular platform on national television and kept him in the public eye during a period when he was not actively seeking political office.

Jackson was also a frequent commentator on racial controversies and incidents of national significance. In 2006, he was among the prominent figures who responded to comedian Michael Richards's use of racial slurs during a stand-up comedy performance, calling for accountability and dialogue on race in the entertainment industry.

In 2007, Jackson was involved in the national response to the Jena Six case in Louisiana, in which six Black teenagers were charged with serious crimes after a schoolyard fight that followed months of racial tensions. Jackson traveled to Jena and helped organize demonstrations calling for fair treatment of the defendants.

Relationship with Barack Obama

Jackson's relationship with Barack Obama was complex. While Jackson had paved the way for African-American presidential candidates through his 1984 and 1988 campaigns, his relationship with Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign became strained. In July 2008, Jackson was caught on an open microphone at Fox News making disparaging remarks about Obama, saying he wanted to "cut his nuts off," criticizing Obama for what Jackson perceived as condescending rhetoric toward Black Americans. Jackson apologized for the remarks, calling them "hurtful."

Despite this episode, Jackson was visibly emotional on election night in November 2008 when Obama's victory was announced, and he subsequently expressed pride in the historic achievement. The incident nonetheless illustrated the generational tensions within African-American political leadership.

Later Activism and LGBTQ Rights

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Jackson continued his activism on multiple fronts. He remained a vocal critic of police brutality, the Republican Party, and conservative economic policies. He was an early and consistent supporter of LGBTQ rights in the United States, a position that distinguished him from many other prominent African-American clergy.

In 2005, Jackson intervened in the Terri Schiavo case, traveling to Florida to join those advocating for the reinsertion of Schiavo's feeding tube.

Jackson also continued his involvement in economic justice campaigns, advocating for a higher minimum wage, universal healthcare, and corporate responsibility toward minority communities. Through the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he maintained a weekly radio broadcast and organized an annual Wall Street Project conference that brought together business leaders, politicians, and community organizers.

Personal Life

Jackson married Jacqueline Lavinia Brown on December 31, 1962. The couple had five children together, including Santita Jackson, a singer and political commentator; Jesse Jackson Jr., who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 2012; and Jonathan Jackson. Jackson also fathered a daughter, Ashley, born in 1999 from an extramarital relationship with Karin Stanford, a political science professor and former head of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's Washington bureau. Jackson publicly acknowledged the relationship in 2001.

Jackson was a member of Prince Hall Freemasonry.

In 2017, Jackson publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Despite the diagnosis, he continued public appearances and activism, though at a reduced pace. His health gradually declined in subsequent years.

Jackson died on February 17, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 84. He was buried at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago. Memorial services were held over a two-week period in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina. The South Carolina legislature authorized his body to lie in state at the South Carolina State House, recognizing his roots in the state and his early activism there.

Following Jackson's death, the Reverend Al Sharpton publicly criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for refusing to allow Jackson to lie in honor at the United States Capitol, calling the decision "an insult to millions." House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries invited members of Jackson's family to attend the State of the Union address in his honor.

Recognition

In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, in recognition of his decades of civil rights activism and public service.

Jackson received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout his career. His contributions to voter registration, economic justice, and the expansion of American democratic participation were recognized by organizations across the political spectrum, even as his methods and statements sometimes provoked controversy.

His 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns were recognized as milestones in American political history. By demonstrating that an African-American candidate could win millions of votes and multiple state primaries, Jackson expanded the perceived boundaries of electoral possibility and helped lay the groundwork for future campaigns by candidates of color.

Jackson was also recognized for his international humanitarian work, including his successful negotiations for the release of hostages and prisoners of war in Syria, Cuba, and Iraq. These missions, conducted outside official diplomatic channels, drew attention to Jackson's skills as a negotiator and his willingness to engage with controversial world leaders in pursuit of humanitarian objectives.

Legacy

Jesse Jackson's legacy spans multiple dimensions of American public life. As a civil rights leader, he carried the moral and organizational traditions of Martin Luther King Jr. into the post-civil rights era, adapting them to address new challenges including economic inequality, corporate accountability, and political representation. Through Operation PUSH and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he built institutions that promoted African-American economic empowerment for more than five decades.

As a political figure, Jackson's two presidential campaigns fundamentally altered the landscape of American politics. His 1984 and 1988 runs demonstrated the power of a multiracial progressive coalition and registered hundreds of thousands of new voters, particularly African Americans in the South. These registration efforts had lasting effects on American electoral politics, contributing to increased minority representation at every level of government. Political analysts have noted that Jackson's campaigns helped establish the organizational and rhetorical infrastructure that made Barack Obama's 2008 election possible.

Jackson's concept of the Rainbow Coalition — a broad, diverse alliance of marginalized communities united by common interests — became an enduring framework in progressive politics. His early advocacy for LGBTQ rights placed him ahead of much of his generation among African-American religious leaders and contributed to the evolving discourse on civil rights and inclusion.

His international diplomacy, while sometimes controversial, demonstrated the potential for private citizens to play constructive roles in global humanitarian crises. His successful negotiations for the release of hostages and prisoners in multiple countries added a diplomatic dimension to his legacy that extended beyond domestic politics.

Jackson's oratory, rooted in the African-American preaching tradition, made him one of the most recognizable voices in American public life. His rhetorical cadences, his ability to inspire audiences, and his gift for distilling complex issues into memorable phrases — most notably "Keep hope alive" — left an enduring mark on the language of American political discourse.

At the time of his death, memorial tributes came from across the political spectrum, and multiple state legislatures and civic institutions honored his memory. His body lying in state at the South Carolina State House — in the same state where he had once been denied entry to a public library because of his race — stood as a testament to the distance traveled in his lifetime and in the life of the nation.