Veteran United States civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84, his family announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, the family said Jackson passed away peacefully on the morning of February 17, 2026. The cause of death was not disclosed, though Jackson revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological condition.
He had also been hospitalized in late 2025 for observation related to another neurodegenerative illness, according to media reports.
A Baptist minister and powerful orator, Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s civil rights movement after marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and helping to organize fundraising and grassroots support for the struggle against racial segregation and discrimination in the United States.
Over more than six decades of activism, Jackson became one of the most influential Black voices in American public life.
He made history with two presidential bids in the 1980s, becoming the most prominent Black contender for the Democratic Party’s nomination until the election of Barack Obama in 2008.
Beyond domestic politics, Jackson played a key diplomatic role in several international missions, helping to negotiate the release of U.S. citizens held abroad and advocating against apartheid in South Africa.
During the 1990s, he served as a special envoy for Africa under former President Bill Clinton.
He founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 1996, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to civil rights, political participation, and economic justice.
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Jackson witnessed and participated in many defining moments of modern American history, including being present in Memphis in 1968 when King was assassinated.
Decades later, he publicly wept as Obama celebrated his 2008 election victory, and he stood with the family of George Floyd in 2021 following the conviction of a former police officer.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 8, 1941, Jackson was raised in the segregated South. He earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois before transferring to North Carolina A&T State University, where he studied sociology.
He later adopted the surname of his stepfather, Charles Jackson.
In his early years of activism, Jackson took part in sit-ins and joined the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, which brought him to the attention of King and other movement leaders.
“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. “His belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions.”
Reverend Jesse Jackson is survived by his wife and six children.
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