Jesse Jackson's Life in Photos

The civil rights leader died "peacefully" on Feb. 17, his family announced

Jesse Jackson has died at age 84.

On Feb. 17, the noted civil rights leader's family announced his death via a statement on Instagram.

"Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family wrote.

"We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jackson rose to prominence for his work with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. After King's death, Jackson continued to work seeking justice for African Americans and other marginalized groups in the country. The Baptist minister famously launched two bids for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, and though he lost, his campaigns are widely considered to have paved the way for Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and other Black leaders to follow.

Below, see Jesse Jackson's life in photos.

01 of 10

Jesse Jackson's Early Days

Jesse Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, as the result of an affair his then-16-year-old mother, Helen Burns, had with a 33-year-old married neighbor, Noah Robinson.

When he was two, his mother married Charles Jackson, who went on to adopt Jesse.

02 of 10

Jesse Jackson's Rise

Growing up in the segregated South motivated Jackson to work hard. He was a star student, elected class president in high school and excelled in sports. He attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship before transferring to the HBCU, North Carolina AT&T.

03 of 10

Jesse Jackson Gets Martin Luther King Jr.'s Attention

After graduating, Jackson moved to Chicago, where he trained to become a religious leader and subsequently got the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Noticing his ambition, Dr. King enlisted Jackson to head the Chicago branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he established Operation Breadbasket —an initiative that "encouraged Black men and women to frequent businesses that gave them basic courtesy and job opportunities, and to boycott those that did not," per the BBC.

04 of 10

Jesse Jackson Remembers Martin Luther King Jr.

Jackson's life was changed when King was assassinated while at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

"Every time I think about it, it's like pulling a scab off a sore," he told The Guardian in 2018. "It's a hurtful, painful thought: that a man of love is killed by hate; that a man of peace should be killed by violence; a man who cared is killed by the careless."

05 of 10

Jesse Jackson Runs for President

Following King's death, Jackson continued his work. In 1984, he launched his first presidential bid, establishing the "rainbow coalition," which aimed to unite marginalized groups against the institutional injustices they faced. He became the first Black candidate to win a major primary contest, though he ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to former Vice President Walter Mondale.

06 of 10

Jesse Jackson Gives the Presidenct Another Shot

He would run again in 1988, but once again lost, this time to Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

07 of 10

Jesse Jackson's Personal Life

Through it all, Jesse Jackson had the love and support of his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, whom he married in 1962. The pair welcomed five children together, Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan Luther, Yusef and Jacqueline.

In 1999, Jesse welcomed another daughter with Karin Stanford, the director of the Washington bureau of his organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, per USA Today.

08 of 10

Jesse Jackson Supports Barack Obama

Rev. Jesse Jackson remained a prominent figure in American politics, seeing through the election of the first Black president. Though their relationship was strained at the beginning, in 2007, Jackson backed Barack Obama's presidential campaign, helping to lead him to victory.

09 of 10

Jesse Jackson Gets Sick

The civil rights leader was later diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in 2025, which saw him largely withdraw from public life in his later years. On Nov. 12, 2025, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, his civil rights organization, announced that Jackson had been admitted into the hospital and was undergoing observation. Days later, his family said Jackson was stable and dispelled rumors that he had been placed on life support. 

10 of 10

Jesse Jackson Dies

On Feb. 17, the Baptist minister's family revealed he died via a statement on Instagram.

"Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in the statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

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