Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who died at 84, leaves a legacy of activism, two presidential bids, and a lifelong fight for racial justice and equality.
WASHINGTON: Civil rights icon and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday aged 84, forged a six-decade legacy of activism, liberal politics, and international mediation. His groundbreaking presidential campaigns in the 1980s are widely seen as paving the way for America’s first Black president.
His family announced his death, celebrating “his unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love”. They described him as “a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world”.
Jackson was a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s. He was present in Memphis in 1968 when King was assassinated, a pivotal moment that shaped his lifelong commitment to racial justice.
He later founded two major social justice organisations, Operation PUSH in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984. The two groups merged in 1996 to continue his advocacy work.
Jackson’s presidential runs brought African American issues to the forefront of the Democratic Party. He finished third in the 1984 Democratic primaries, becoming the most successful Black presidential candidate until Barack Obama.
His 1988 convention speech, where he urged Americans to find “common ground”, became a defining moment. He attacked the “reverse Robin Hood” policies of the Reagan era, which he argued enriched the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
His career was also marked by personal controversy. In 1984, he used an antisemitic slur to describe New York, for which he later apologised. One of his sons, former US congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, served prison time for misusing campaign funds.
Born Jesse Louis Burns in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson often spoke of his humble beginnings. “I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had a shovel programmed for my hands,” he once said.
He participated in his first sit-in protest in 1960 and joined the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965. His oratory skills and organising ability quickly brought him to King’s attention.
Jackson later emerged as an international mediator, advocating to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as a special envoy for Africa under President Bill Clinton and undertook missions to free US prisoners in Syria, Iraq, and Serbia.
He publicly battled Parkinson’s disease after a 2017 diagnosis, which curtailed his public engagements. Jackson stood with George Floyd’s family in 2021 after the conviction of the police officer who killed him.
He told media the verdict brought “relief, but not a time for celebration”. His presence connected the modern struggle for racial justice to the civil rights battles of his youth.
The Sun Malaysia
