US Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Dies at 84

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the US civil rights movement who marched alongside Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and championed justice and equality for more than five decades, has died at the age of 84, his family announced Tuesday.

Jackson died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement released by his loved ones. The family described him as a “servant leader… to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.”

Born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to national prominence as a protégé of Dr King during the 1960s civil rights movement, playing a key role in efforts to secure voting rights and end segregation.

After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson continued the struggle for racial and economic justice, founding influential organisations such as Operation PUSH and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to support Black empowerment and broaden opportunities for disenfranchised Americans.

Jackson also made history in American politics, running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, becoming one of the first Black candidates to mount a serious nationwide campaign. His candidacies energised voters and expanded the civil rights movement’s presence in electoral politics.

In later years, Jackson remained a vocal advocate for equality and human rights, even as his health declined due to progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological condition he had battled for more than a decade.