From USA Today: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases, and shamed corporations for their lack of corporate diversity and failure to support voting rights, has died. He was 84.
Jackson was hospitalized on Nov. 12 following a lengthy battle with the neuromuscular disease progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition similar to Parkinson’s disease. He was released from the hospital later that month.
Jackson was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, a Democratic presidential candidate and one of the world’s best-known Black activists.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.,” the organization said in a statement on Instagram. “He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family.”
“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity,” the statement continued. “A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote leaving an indelible mark on history.
“Reverend Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; their children – Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline; daughter Ashley Jackson, and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Burns Jackson; father, Noah Louis Robinson; and stepfather, Charles Henry Jackson.
“’Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,’ said the Jackson family. ‘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.’
“Public observances will be held in Chicago. Final arrangements for Reverend Jackson’s celebration of life services, including all public events, will be released by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org and www.jessejacksonlegacy.com.”
“His longevity is part of the story,” said Rashad Robinson, former president of Color of Change. “This is someone who had so many chances to do something else. And this is what chose to do with his life.”
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BREAKING: Civil rights icon and two-time presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson passed away on Tuesday morning at age 84, his family said in a statement.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas has more on his life and legacy.
Read more: https://t.co/mXsUj0ePqV pic.twitter.com/rdKnS2HKje
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 17, 2026
Jesse Jackson, a giant of the civil rights movement in the U.S. and two-time presidential candidate, has died.
In a statement, his family celebrated his ‘unwavering commitment to justice, equality and human rights’.
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/32WpNxPvLk pic.twitter.com/Drys7nYTt6
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 17, 2026
Dr. @AlvedaCKing reflects on the life and legacy of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. pic.twitter.com/NDCPxcXv7w
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) February 17, 2026
Read more at USA Today
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