US civil rights icon Jesse Jackson, close associate of Martin Luther King Jr, dies at 84

Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering personality from the US civil rights movement, has passed away at the age of 84, his family said 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 in a statement.

"His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by," the statement added.

An ordained Baptist minister, Jackson was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in 2017.

Worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and was a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr., who was impressed by his organizational skills. Jackson was with him at the Lorraine Motel when King was assassinated in 1968.

Jackson also founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, which later merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Democratic presidential campaigns

Jackson was also a pioneering politician who twice, unsuccessfully, ran for the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988. In 1983, Jackson became only the second African American to launch a nationwide campaign for president as a Democrat.

Despite running a popular campaign, Jackson failed to gain the support of the Democratic Party, which backed Walter Mondale, who eventually lost to incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan in a landslide margin.

In 1987, Johnson launched yet another Democratic presidential nomination campaign and once again failed to get the backing of the party, due to his race and policies.

Activism beyond US

Jackson also served as Democratic President Bill Clinton's special envoy to Africa in the 1990s and was instrumental in securing the release of a number of Americans and others held overseas in places including Syria, Cuba, Iraq, and Serbia.

Black Lives Matter protests

Despite profound health challenges in his final years, Jackson continued protesting against racial injustice into the era of Black Lives Matter. In 2024, he appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and at a City Council meeting to show support for a resolution backing a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

“Even if we win,” he told marchers in Minneapolis before the officer whose knee kept George Floyd from breathing was convicted of murder, “it’s relief, not victory. They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”