The Rev. Jesse Jackson — the two-time presidential candidate who became one of the most prominent leaders of America’s post Civil Rights era — passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84, according to a statement from his family.
Daughter Santita Jackson told the Associated Press that her father, who previously was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder, died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.
Born in 1941, the Greenville, South Carolina, native and founder of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition would go on to become one of the most famous Black voices in American political life during the years that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
While not from Georgia, Jackson had numerous ties to the state’s civil rights legacy and some of its most notable leaders. He was the mentee of King who reportedly rushed to his side after the fatal shooting in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, no relation, endorsed the “Keep hope alive” orator during his first historic run for president of the United States in 1983. Jesse Jackson is regarded as the second Black American to run for president behind Shirley Chisholm, who ran for office in 1972.
Jackson was an inspiration to some of Georgia’s modern-day political leaders, including Raphael Warnock, the state’s first Black U.S. senator. After learning of Jackson’s passing on Tuesday, Warnock said the nation has lost “one of its great moral voices.”
“As a kid growing up in public housing while watching him run for President, Rev. Jesse Jackson gave me a glimpse of what is possible and taught me to say, ‘I am somebody!’” Warnock said via email. “As an adult, I was proud to call him a friend.”
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor Jamal Bryant spoke at Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH anniversary event last December. He called Jackson his “superhero,” and described the role he played in shaping Bryant into the man he is today.
“While other boys my age wanted to be Michael Jordan, I wanted to be Jesse Jackson,” Bryant said via email. “His poise, passion and purpose was my blueprint. In 6th grade I wore a Jackson for president button every day and haven’t turned back since.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens described Jackson as “an American icon,” recalling a then-26-year-old Jackson being one of the men working alongside King when King was assassinated.
“That tragedy seemed to cement his commitment to the Movement,” Dickens said in an emailed statement. “Through the years, Rev. Jackson proved to be a great friend to our city and many of our leaders. … He never stopped challenging leaders to do better by Americans, especially when it comes to economic justice. And that’s a fight that we will continue here in Atlanta.”
The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus called Jackson “a towering figure” in the global civil rights struggle, one who stood for “economic justice” and “human dignity” for all.
“For decades, Rev. Jackson stood at the forefront of the fight to expand opportunity and defend democracy,” the GLBC said in an emailed statement. “His leadership reminded us that the work of justice is ongoing and that the arc of the moral universe bends only when we commit ourselves to bending it.”
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams described Jackson as a “giant of the Civil Rights Movement” and a “fearless voice for marginalized communities.”
“He spoke truth unapologetically and pushed America to live up to its promise of justice for all,” Williams said. “Because of his courage, generations found their voice and stepped into their power.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said Jackson was a “trailblazer” who “dedicated his life to justice and progress.”
“The State of Georgia and the United States are better thanks to his civic and faith leadership,” Ossoff said. “May his memory be a blessing.”
Jackson seemed to understand and embrace an inspirational role he played for many when he delivered his famous Democratic National Committee convention speech in Atlanta during his second historic White House run in 1988. America may not have been ready for a Black president at the time, but it was ready for a champion of economic justice to plant the seeds of possibility in the minds of millions.
“I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me, and it wasn’t born in you,” Jackson told the crowd of supporters, some of who waved signs with his name while others wept at the power of his words.
“And you can make it,” he said. “We must never surrender! America will get better and better! Keep hope alive!”
