Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84.
Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 84
Jackson, a Baptist minister raised in the segregated South, was a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. and twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination.
He was the first Black man to launch a nationwide presidential campaign in the United States. The Jackson family stated, “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.”
An inspirational orator and long-time Chicagoan, Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017. He dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of Black Americans and other marginalized communities, building on the work of his mentor, Martin Luther King Jr.
Despite weathering numerous controversies, Jackson remained a pre-eminent civil rights figure in America for decades. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, gaining support from Black voters and white liberals, but did not secure his party’s nomination.
Jackson founded the Chicago-based civil rights groups Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition. He also served as President Bill Clinton’s special envoy to Africa in the 1990s.
He played a key role in securing the release of Americans and others held captive overseas, including in Syria, Cuba, Iraq, and Serbia.
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