A wave of tributes poured in for Rev. Jesse Jackson after his family announced the death of the civil rights leader on Tuesday.
Jackson, 84, was a Baptist minister, civil rights pioneer, and two-time presidential candidate.
His family said he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. While no official cause of death was given, he had been living with illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease, for several years.
Activists, public figures, and prominent politicians, including former President Donald Trump, took to social media to honor Jackson’s life and legacy.
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton described Jackson as his “mentor” and called him “one of our nation’s greatest moral voices,” noting that he “carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice.”
“Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. His presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered,” Sharpton said.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., praised Jackson as “a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed.”
“Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. devoted his life to lifting people in poverty, the marginalized, and those pushed to society’s edges,” King said.
“Through Operation PUSH, he pushed barriers and opened doors so Black people and other excluded communities could step into opportunity and dignity.”
She added, “With the Rainbow Coalition, he cast a bold vision of an inclusive society—uniting people across race, class, and faith to build power together and expand the table of economic opportunity.”
Operation PUSH, rooted in Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, focused on empowering Black communities.
Jackson also founded the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, merging it with PUSH in 1996 to form Rainbow/PUSH.
Former President Trump described Jackson as “a force of nature like few others before him,” noting his support for the Rainbow Coalition, criminal justice reform, and funding for historically Black colleges and universities.
“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,” Trump wrote.
Former Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris called Jackson “one of America’s greatest patriots,” recalling her personal admiration with a “Jesse Jackson for President” bumper sticker during her law school days.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described Jackson as “a legendary voice for the voiceless, powerful civil rights champion and trailblazer extraordinaire,” praising his decades of work for liberty and justice.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson urged prayers for Jackson’s family, noting his “rhetoric and direct action made him a powerful force to be reckoned with.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Jackson “a giant of the civil rights movement who never stopped demanding that America live up to its promise,” emphasizing that his legacy should be honored “not just in words, but in struggle.”
The NAACP stated, “Rev. Jackson’s passing marks the loss of a towering moral voice, but the movement he helped build will carry his light forward.”
The organization urged continued commitment to justice, organization, and advocacy in his memory.
