CHICAGO – The United States has lost one of its most towering figures in the fight for social justice.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, the fiery orator and political pioneer who twice sought the presidency, died Tuesday at the age of 84.
His family confirmed the news in a statement, celebrating a man whose “unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions.”
Jackson’s life served as a living map of the American Civil Rights Movement. A protégé of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson was present at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when King was assassinated in 1968.
For the next six decades, he worked to expand the beloved “community”.
King envisioned entering the halls of power. His career was defined by a unique three-pronged approach: grassroots civil rights organising, high-stakes international mediation, and electoral politics.
Long before the term representative diversity became a mainstay of American discourse, Jackson was living it.
His presidential runs in 1984 and 1988 fundamentally transformed the Democratic Party.
The 1984 Campaign: Jackson ran on a platform of ending mandatory minimum drug sentences and massive job expansion.
He finished third in the primaries, becoming the most successful Black candidate in history at that time.
The 1988 Campaign: Jackson soared to a second-place finish behind Michael Dukakis.
His “Common Ground” speech at the DNC remains a masterclass in political rhetoric, famously declaring, “It takes two wings to fly.”
Jackson's success was rooted in his ability to mobilise what he called the Rainbow Coalition — a broad base of the disrespected and the despised, including Black voters, workers, and the poor.
His efforts were statistically significant; in 1984, he garnered over 3 million votes, and by 1988, that number surged to over 6.8 million votes, proving that a Black candidate could command a national multi-racial following.
Beyond U.S. borders, Jackson acted as a shadow diplomat. He was a vocal opponent of South African apartheid and served as a special envoy to Africa under President Bill Clinton.
His shuttle diplomacy successfully secured the release of U.S. prisoners in Syria, Iraq, and Serbia, often succeeding where traditional State Department channels had stalled.
Jackson’s journey from a shovel in his hands in segregated South Carolina to the global stage was not without friction.
In 1984, he faced intense criticism for using a pejorative term for Jews when referring to New York City, an incident for which he later apologised.
Additionally, his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., served prison time for the misuse of campaign funds, a shadow on the family’s political dynasty.
In 2017, Jackson announced he was battling Parkinson’s disease. Despite his declining health, he remained a moral compass for the nation.
He was seen weeping with joy at Barack Obama's 2008 victory, a moment he helped make possible, and stood in solidarity with the family of George Floyd in 2021.
“It’s a long struggle for racial equality in this country,” Jackson remarked following the conviction of Floyd's killer.
It was a struggle he led until his final days.
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