A Life at the Intersection of Movement and Mobilization
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., civil rights icon, spiritual leader, presidential candidate, and global advocate for justice, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84, surrounded by family. His passing marks the end of a generation that bridged the Civil Rights Movement and modern Black political power.
Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns in 1941 to 16-year-old Helen Burns and her married neighbor, Noah L. Robinson. His mother later married Charles Jackson, and he took his stepfather’s last name as a teenager. He maintained relationships with both men and later said that, rather than experiencing a “father deficit,” he felt he had a “father surplus.”
Jackson was a gifted athlete and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. After one year, he transferred to North Carolina A&T, where he began organizing and leading demonstrations.
In 1960, he led a group later known as the Greenville Eight in a peaceful “read-in” at the city’s segregated library. He and seven other students were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. It was Jackson’s first arrest, but it would not be his last.
From Student Activist To National Leader
Jackson later enrolled at Chicago Theological Seminary but ultimately left before completing his degree in order to devote himself fully to the movement. In Selma, he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and soon began working alongside him. He was assigned to Chicago to lead Operation Breadbasket, an initiative focused on economic justice and expanding opportunities for Black-owned businesses.
After Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson stepped into national visibility. In 1971, he founded Operation PUSH, which later became the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Through it, he advocated for voting rights, economic justice, and D.C. statehood long before those conversations gained widespread support.
Presidential Run And Diplomatic Influence
In 1984 and 1988, Jackson ran for President of the United States. His campaigns reshaped the Democratic primary process and expanded Black political participation. The phrase “Rainbow Coalition” entered the national vocabulary. He did not win the presidency, but he altered the political landscape.
Though not a formal diplomat, Jackson was widely credited with helping secure the release of U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria in 1984. He also played roles in negotiations involving American hostages in Syria, detainees in Cuba, prisoners in Iraq, and hostages during the Kosovo conflict.
In 2000, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Controversy And Public Scrutiny
Jackson’s life was not without criticism. Some civil rights leaders believed he was overly media-focused and personalized movements too heavily around himself. In 2001, it became public that he had fathered a child outside his marriage. Ashley Jackson was born in 1999. Jackson publicly acknowledged her in 2001 and accepted responsibility. That period significantly affected his public reputation and intensified scrutiny of his leadership.
I Am Somebody
One of our favorite Black Mail memories of Rev. Jackson was his call-and-response rendition of “I Am Somebody.” Originally written by Rev. Dr. William Holmes Borders in the 1940s, Jackson carried it into schools, churches, and rallies, popularizing the piece and activating a sense of cultural pride, empowerment, and self-love. He even performed the piece on Sesame Street in 1971. The moment captures his ability to blend activism, empowerment, and cultural affirmation in a way that resonated across generations.
Check out the clip below of one of our favorite renditions of “I Am Somebody,” led by Jackson. The footage was taken in 1963 while Jackson was addressing a large gathering.
In his later years, Jackson battled Parkinson’s disease and was later diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a rare neurological disorder. His public appearances became fewer, but his influence remained.
Rev. Jesse Jackson leaves behind his wife of more than six decades, Jacqueline Brown Jackson. He and Jacqueline had five children together: Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, and Jacqueline. He also had one daughter, Ashley (mentioned above). His children remain active in politics, media, and advocacy, with sons Jesse Jr. and Jonathan having served in the U.S. Congress.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy is layered. He was an advocate for the marginalized in political spaces, a movement strategist who stepped into electoral politics, and a figure who inspired both loyalty and debate. His life reminds us that our heroes hold duality; at their core, both imperfect and inspiring, flawed and fabulous.
Say it with me: “I am somebody”.
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