Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Civil Rights Movement leader and two-time presidential candidate, has passed away at the age of 84.
As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before King was killed, and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King’s successor. Santita Jackson confirmed that her father, who had a rare neurological disorder, died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.
Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues, including voting rights, job opportunities, education, and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.
And when he declared, “I am Somebody,” in a poem he often repeated, he sought to reach people of all colors. “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” Jackson intoned.
It was a message he took literally and personally, having risen from obscurity in the segregated South to become America’s best-known civil rights activist since King. He ultimately passed after a battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
Here’s how officials in Mississippi are remembering Jackson’s legacy:
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson
Rev. Jesse Jackson inspired many of us to not be afraid to try to change things. His rhetoric and direct action made him a powerful force to be reckoned with.
May we all extend prayer to his family at this time. https://t.co/0iHIKY8SZS
— Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) February 17, 2026
Jackson Mayor John Horhn
Reverend Jesse Jackson was a giant of the American story and a moral voice for the world. From the streets of the civil rights movement to the halls of power, he devoted his life to confronting injustice, expanding democracy, and calling this nation to live up to its highest ideals.
I was blessed to know Reverend Jackson and to witness his commitment up close. He never lost faith in the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and he never stopped urging us to ‘keep hope alive’ even in our hardest hours. His leadership helped register voters, open doors that had long been closed, and build coalitions.
Today, we mourn a pastor, a freedom fighter, and a statesman whose work reshaped our politics and our conscience. We also celebrate a life spent lifting up the poor, defending the voiceless, and challenging racism and inequality wherever he found them. His legacy will live on in every ballot cast, every young leader he inspired, and every community still striving for justice.
On behalf of the City of Jackson, I extend my condolences to his wife, Jacqueline, their children, the entire Jackson family, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition family. May we honor Reverend Jackson by continuing the work to which he gave his life, expanding opportunity, protecting the right to vote, and bending the arc of history toward justice.”
Mississippi Democratic Party Chair State Rep. Cheikh Taylor
Our nation has lost one of its greatest moral voices. Reverend Jackson carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice, and he never stopped reminding us that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice only when people are willing to bend it themselves.
Chairman Taylor spoke personally of Jackson’s enduring influence on his own life.
When I was a student at Howard University, I would walk past Reverend Jackson’s home on 4th and T Street in LeDroit Park every single morning on my way to class. And nearly every morning, he was there. He didn’t have to stop. He didn’t have to speak. But he always did.
He would look at you — really look at you — and he would ask how you were doing, what you were studying, what you were going to do with your life. He treated every one of us like our futures mattered, because to him, they did. That neighborhood sits in the shadow of Howard University for a reason.
It has always been a place where greatness was expected of young Black men and women, and Reverend Jackson lived that truth every single day. I carry those mornings with me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report