Jesse Jackson, Protege of Mlk Who Paved the Way for Obama, Dead at 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, center, joins a rally for "silver rights" and employment in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 1975. Jackson led the demonstration on the birthday of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to advocate for the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill and national economic equity. (Photo by Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)

For more than half a century, the voice of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. served as the heartbeat of the American struggle — a thunderous, rhythmic reminder that "Somebody" could rise from the slum, even if the slum remained in them.

On Tuesday, that voice, which once shook the foundations of the Democratic Party and echoed through the halls of global power, finally fell silent.

Jackson, the protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the man who effectively pioneered the modern path for Black presidential aspirations, died peacefully at his home in Chicago surrounded by family, his daughter Santita Jackson confirmed. He was 84.

While a cause of death was not immediately specified, Jackson had spent the last decade battling significant health challenges, including Parkinson’s disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disorder that eventually robbed the master orator of his ability to speak.

From Memphis to the Rainbow Coalition

To understand Jesse Jackson is to understand the bridge between the picket lines of the 1960s and the ballot boxes of the 21st century. He was there on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when the movement lost its King, a trauma that Jackson carried as both a scar and a mandate for the rest of his life.

In the decades that followed, Jackson refused to be a mere footnote in history. He founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in Chicago, demanding economic equity for Black businesses and workers. He transformed the "I Am Somebody" chant into a psychological cornerstone for a generation of Black youth who had been told they were nothing.

But it was his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns that fundamentally shifted the American political landscape. By building a "Rainbow Coalition" of the disenfranchised — Black, Latino, poor white, and rural farmers — Jackson didn’t just run for office; he expanded the electorate. He proved that a Black man could win major primaries, secure millions of votes, and force the mainstream to address the needs of the "voiceless." Without Jesse Jackson’s 1988 run, the road to the White House for Barack Obama twenty years later remains unpaved.

A Complicated, Consequential Legacy

Jackson was never a simple figure. He was often criticized for a perceived hunger for the spotlight and faced significant backlash for his "Hymietown" remarks in 1984—an anti-Semitic slur for which he later offered a tearful apology at a synagogue.

Yet, even his critics could not deny his efficacy. Whether he was negotiating the release of American hostages in Syria, Iraq, and Cuba, or lobbying for D.C. statehood as a "shadow senator," Jackson lived in the fray.

As his health declined, he remained a fixture at protests, often pushed in a wheelchair to the front lines of the Black Lives Matter movement or to advocate for vaccine equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a man who understood that "Keep Hope Alive" wasn't just a slogan; it was a survival strategy.

With his passing, the era of the "Old Guard" civil rights leaders draws closer to its conclusion, but the holes he tore in the walls of the American establishment remain open for those who follow.