The Rev Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the American civil rights movement and a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, has died at the age of 84. His family announced his death, describing him as a 'servant leader' who championed the oppressed and the voiceless.
Jackson rose to prominence alongside Dr Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s and later built a 'rainbow coalition' advocating for Black, poor and working-class people. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, paving the way for future candidates including Barack Obama.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jackson faced segregation from an early age. In 1960, he and seven other Black students were arrested for a peaceful protest at a whites-only library, an event known as the Greenville Eight. He later transferred to North Carolina A&T, where he led sit-ins and served as student body president.
Jackson had suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy for more than a decade, having initially been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He continued campaigning during the Covid pandemic, highlighting racial disparities in healthcare.
President Barack Obama once credited Jackson with making his own historic election possible. Jackson said he wept on election night, thinking of those who had sacrificed before him.
