A figure in the fight for civil rights in the United States, very close to Martin Luther King and twice a candidate for the presidency, the black pastor Jesse Jackson died this Tuesday at the age of 84, his family reported.
The veteran activist died “peacefully, surrounded by his family,” his relatives indicated on social media. He will be honored at a public tribute in Chicago at a date yet to be determined.
“His unwavering faith in justice, equality and love inspired millions of people, and we ask that you honor his memory by continuing to fight for the values he lived by,” his family stated.
A companion of Martin Luther King in the 1960s, this Baptist pastor and talented orator throughout his life pushed back the barriers that limited political space to African-Americans.
Jackson leaves behind a wife and six children. “Our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless and the ignored around the world,” they said.
Tump’s message
Donald Trump made public his condolences for the death of Jackson, whom he described as “a force of nature like few were before him.”
“I knew him well long before he became president. He was a good man, with a lot of personality, determination, and street smarts,” declared the Republican president.
The family did not specify the cause of death, but Jackson announced in 2017 that he had Parkinson’s disease.
According to the press, in November he was hospitalized for observation for another neurodegenerative disease.
Until Barack Obama came to the White House in 2009, Jesse Jackson had been the most prominent African-American to run for president of the United States, with two failed attempts to be nominated by the Democratic Party in the 1980s.
Farewell to Jesse Jackson
The Reverend Al Sharpton, also a leader in the civil rights struggle, bid him farewell, saying that the “Nation has lost one of its greatest ethical voices.”
“He was not simply a civil rights leader, he was a movement in his own right. He carried history in his steps and hope in his voice,” Sharpton wrote. “It changed the Nation and the world,” he added.
Jackson founded two organizations to promote equality and social justice: PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in the 1980s. The two merged in 1996.
He also distinguished himself for his work as a mediator and special envoy on several fronts. He advocated for the end of apartheid in South Africa and, in the 1990s, was appointed special emissary to Africa in the Bill Clinton administration.
He also participated in negotiations to free American hostages and prisoners in Syria, Iraq and Serbia.
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