Jesse Jackson speaking with reporters during the Poor People’s Campaign in 2018. Photo courtesy of Leeann Cafferata, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
Official observances will occur in three states beginning Feb. 26–Mar. 7.
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By Nicole Droeger Stephens
CHICAGO, Ill. — On Feb. 17, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition announced the death of their founder and civil rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. A statement from his family shares that he died peacefully, surrounded by people he loved. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and six children.
Rev. Jackson was born on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, SC. He began studying in 1964 at Chicago Theological Seminary but left to join the Civil Rights Movement. He was ordained in 1968 by Rev. Clay Evans of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, and he received his Master of Divinity in 2000.
His involvement in the Civil Rights Movement encouraged Rev. Jackson to create the People United to Serve Humanity (PUSH) organization in 1971 and the Rainbow Coalition in 1984. In 1998, he merged the two organizations. He championed Black voter rights during his presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988.
His family did not announce a cause of death. Rev. Jackson was hospitalized in Nov. 2025 due to complications with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare neurological condition that he was diagnosed with in April of the same year.
Civil Rights Activist
According to a report from the New York Times, in 1963, Rev. Jackson led his first march in downtown Greensboro, NC, landing himself in jail for a day. In 1965, he led some students and faculty from Chicago Theological Seminary to Selma, Ala., and offered services to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Six months later, Rev. Jackson joined SCLC at 24.
Controversy arose a day after Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. Rev. Jackson appeared on the Today show wearing a turtleneck covered with Dr. King’s blood. Rev. Jackson claimed to have held Dr. King’s head while he died, an account former advisors Ralph David Abernathy and Hosea Williams disputed, claiming Rev. Jackson was trying to take the spotlight.
Abernathy suspended Rev. Jackson from the SCLC in 1971 due to misconduct. Undeterred, Rev. Jackson continued with his social justice advocacy, traveling within the United States and to other countries to promote civil rights causes through his PUSH organization.
Presidential Candidate
According to a report from the Associated Press, Rev. Jackson ran for president twice as a Democrat. In his 1988 campaign, he successfully received 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination, a record for Black politicians in the U.S. at that time.
Coalition Leader
In 1996, Rev. Jackson founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) in Chicago, Ill. The organization promotes its mission to “protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice around the world.” RPC offers PUSH Excel, a tax-exempt organization and education program that advocates “equal funding for all students without regard to race or economic standing.”
The RPC claims to have offered 1,500 scholarships, paid $6.1 million in scholarship money, facilitated 500 new jobs, and saved over 4,000 homes from foreclosure. Currently, over 50,000 members are enrolled with the RPC.
Visits to Florida
The Tampa Bay Times lists a collection of times Rev. Jackson visited the state. Notable events include the 1987 Florida Democratic convention in Miami Beach, where former Gov. of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, was in attendance, and his media appearance with former Gov. of Florida, Jeb Bush, in 2005 to comment on the Terri Schiavo life support case.
In 2007, WMNF reported Rev. Jackson’s visit to the University of South Florida. During the college’s week-long celebration of Dr. King, Rev. Jackson presented a lecture that discussed the history of legal degradation, education access, and voting rights of Africans in the U.S.
WFLA reports that Rev. Jackson visited Tampa’s 34th Street Church of God in 2011 and discussed voting rights with the congregation.
Celebration of Life Services
Although Rev. Jackson has passed away, his legacy will be remembered. Rev. Jackson’s family and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition are hosting multiple celebration of life services across Chicago, IL; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; and South Carolina. Services will begin Feb. 26 and end Mar. 7. Updates and registration information can be found at JesseJacksonLegacy.com.