Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, drawing diverse voters
Reverend Jesse Jackson stops by a demonstration outside the US Capitol to protest the expiration of the federal moratorium on residential evictions in Washington, US, August 2, 2021. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
Charismatic US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, an eloquent Baptist minister raised in the segregated South who became a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. and twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died at age 84, his family said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said. Jackson, a long-time Chicagoan, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017.
His death comes amid concerns that recent US policies could reverse decades of social progress. Jackson advocated for the rights of Black Americans and other marginalized communities dating back to the civil rights movement of the 1960s led by his mentor Martin Luther King Jr.
Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, attracting Black voters and many white liberals, but never became the first Black major party White House nominee. He founded Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition, served as Democratic President Bill Clinton’s special envoy to Africa, and helped secure the release of Americans held overseas in countries including Syria, Cuba, Iraq, and Serbia.
Mesmerizing Oratory
Jackson relied on his eloquence to pursue political ambitions in the 1980s. In 1984, he won 3.3 million votes (18%) in Democratic primaries and finished third. In 1988, he came a close second, winning 11 state primaries and caucuses and 6.8 million votes (29%). He electrified the Democratic convention with speeches calling on Americans to find common ground.
Southern Roots and Early Life
Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson grew up amid Jim Crow laws. He attended historically Black colleges, became a Baptist minister in 1968, and joined King’s civil rights campaigns, even being present the day King was assassinated.
Jackson later founded civil rights organizations in Chicago, merged them into Rainbow-PUSH Coalition in 1996, and led them for decades. He married Jacqueline Brown in 1962; they had five children. His son Jesse Jackson Jr. served in the US House of Representatives.
Diplomacy and Later Life
Jackson was known for personal diplomacy, securing the release of Americans from Syria, Iraq, Cuba, and Serbia. He hosted a CNN show (1992–2000), pressed corporations for Black economic empowerment, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. He remained active later in life, condemning racial injustice, including the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
