The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the longtime civil rights leader, Baptist minister, and founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has died. Jackson’s family announced Tuesday that he died peacefully that morning, surrounded by loved ones. In a statement, they remembered him as a devoted “servant leader” who ministered not only to his family, but also to “the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.”
A longtime social justice activist, President Donald Trump, who had known Jackson for years before entering politics, offered a public tribute shortly after news of his death broke.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Jackson as “a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’” He called him very gregarious and someone who “truly loved people.”
The president noted that despite repeated accusations of racism leveled against him by political opponents, he had long been willing to work with Jackson. He pointed to providing office space for Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street for an extended period, supporting criminal justice reform legislation he later signed into law, securing long-term funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities—an initiative Trump said Jackson valued highly—and backing Opportunity Zones, which he described as the most effective economic development program to date for Black entrepreneurs.
Trump further characterized Jackson as “a force of nature like few others before him,” and credited him with playing a significant but often unacknowledged role in the election of Barack Obama, even though the two men reportedly had a strained relationship. He closed by expressing sympathy to Jackson’s family, writing that “Jesse loved his family greatly” and concluding, “Jesse will be missed!”
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to national prominence during the civil rights movement, working closely with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. After King’s assassination, Jackson emerged as a national figure in his own right, blending pulpit oratory with political organizing and international advocacy.
In 1984 and again in 1988, Jackson mounted historic bids for the Democratic presidential nomination, building multiracial coalitions that reshaped the party’s electoral calculus and brought issues of racial inequality and economic justice to the forefront of national debate, explained Fox News. Though he did not secure the nomination, his campaigns energized millions of voters and expanded political participation among minority communities.
Through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and decades of public advocacy, Jackson remained a persistent voice in debates over voting rights, education, economic development, and criminal justice. Admirers hailed him as a tireless advocate for the marginalized; critics questioned his tactics and rhetoric. Yet few disputed his imprint on American public life.
Jackson was 84 years old.
