Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a civil rights icon and a former presidential candidate, has passed away. He was 84.
According to The New York Times, Jackson’s passing was confirmed by his family in an official statement.
No cause of death was given.
‘A GREAT MORAL VOICE’
Rev. Al Sharpton, a mentee of Jackson, said in a statement that “our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices.”
“Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. And his presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered,” Sharpton said.
Jackson began his work as an organizer with the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E). He participated in marches and sit-ins as a student at North Carolina A&T State University. Jackson graduated with a degree in sociology and also was the football team’s starting quaterback.
A protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson first gained national prominence in the 1960s as the director of Operation Breadbasket. He organized economic boycotts to secure jobs and contracts for Black-owned businesses.
After King’s death, he founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in 1971 to continue his work. He later established the National Rainbow Coalition to build a diverse political front for marginalized groups.
Jackson launched two historic runs for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. His campaigns registered millions of new voters and laid the strategic groundwork for the eventual election of Barack Obama.
‘KEEP HOPE ALIVE’
A global citizen, Jackson negotiated the release of American hostages and prisoners in Syria, Cuba, Iraq, and Yugoslavia. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000
Jackson’s slogan, “Keep Hope Alive,” forever characterized his struggle for social and economic justice.