By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
The Reverend Jesse Jackon passed away on February 17, 2026, as his family announced:
“Profound sadness, the family of Reverend Jess Jackson, Sr. , an iconic figure in the fight for civil rights, international justice and human dignity, announces his passing,” the family said in a statement released on the same day.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless and the overlooked around the world,” the statement continued. “We shared him with the world and, in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
His family shared the Rev. Jackson with the world for more than six decades, during which time he spent his life in numerous endeavors to advance equality, disrupt systems of oppression and ensure that voices of the poor, the oppressed and the underserved could be heard.
Jackson was born in1941 in Greensville, SC, to a teenaged mother and the married next-door neighbor. He attended public schools in Greenville and enrolled in the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He transferred to North Carolina A & T State University and graduated in 1964. At A & T he was elected student body president and became active there in civil rights issues and demonstrations in Greensboro, NC.
After college Jackson began his theological studies at Chicago Theological Seminary and also started working in the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jackson met Dr. King during the Selma movement in 1965 when he traveled South to lend support to the voting rights campaign. Jackson, with King’s support, was later named to head the Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In that position he organized boycotts and negotiations to secure jobs and contracts for Black workers and businesses.
Jackson was with Dr. King in 1968 when the latter was assassinated in Memphis. Afterwards he emerged as one of the key African American leaders in the Civil Rights movement and, in 1971, founded Operation PUSH – People United to Serve Humanity. That Chicago organization later evolved into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a national platform to advocate for voting rights, education equity, corporate accountability, labor rights, healthcare access and international human rights.
In the late 1970s Jackson’s portfolio expanded as he became an unofficial mediator in international crises, traveling to various countries – Cuba, South Africa, Haiti, Iraq, and others – to push for prisoner release, democratic reforms and peace. He gained the release of some notable political prisoners during this time.
Then Rev. Jackson entered politics in 1984 seeking the Democratic presidential nomination and mounting a highly visible national campaign. He managed to secure hundreds of delegates and delivered a masterful speech at the Democratic convention.
Jackson’s convention speech is widely regarded as one of the most influential political addresses of the 20th century, ranked among the top American political speeches for its eloquence and moral vision.
“This is not a perfect party. We are not a perfect people,” he said during that speech. “Yet, we are called to a perfect mission: our mission to feed the hungry; to clothe the naked; to house the homeless; to teach the illiterate; to provide jobs for the jobless; and to choose the human race over the nuclear race.”
In 1988, Jackson once again ran for the Democratic nomination, winning several primaries and caucuses, earning nearly seven million votes nationwide, finishing second in delegate votes at one point in the race. His theme, building a “Rainbow Coalition” gave him the chance to court a wide range of voters – farmers, working class whites, immigrants, laborers – and to reshape Democratic politics, setting the stage for Gov. Bill Clinton’s victory four years later and Sen. Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign in 2008.
“Our dreams must be stronger than our memories,” Rev. Jackson said during his speech at the 1988 Democratic convention.
Later, well into the 2000s and 2010s, Jackson remained a force in American life, advocating for justice, equality and humanity.
Toledoans were provided a glimpse of his concern about racial injustice and social inequity in January 2019, when Jackson came to the Glass City to advocate for Black workers at the local General Motors plant – workers who had been the targets of racial harassment.
During a rally at The Sojourner’s Truth offices, Jackson spoke with an audience of about 80 people, including GM employees, elected officials and local ministers during his two-hour stay in the Glass City – a reaction to the GM situation that has garnered attention in the national media. He had driven down to Toledo from Detroit where he had spent the previous day participating in MLK Day activities.
“Cowards must be found,” he said of those GM workers who were hanging nooses and scribbling racial messages while concealing their identities and avoiding punitive measures.
Using his trademark technique of urging his audience to repeat his phrases, Jackson held his listeners’ attention and involvement as he replied to those who voiced their grievances about harassment incidents they had experienced at local GM, Jeep and UPS worksites.
Jackson’s visit to Toledo helped to resolve a number of issues such as racial harassment and fair pay with GM workers and also the helped to settle a civil suit between Ray Wood, then president of the Toledo NAACP and the former head of the union in the GM Powertrain plant, and GM management.
As usual, Jackson’s presence and his commitment to social change brought a level of awareness to a community and a sense of urgency about finding solutions to social issues.
“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up,” he said on numerous occasions.
In recent years, Rev. Jackson faced health challenges. In 2017 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and later learned that he had progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological condition that affects movement and speech. But as attendees learned during his Toledo visit, his health challenges did not render his impact on his audience any less effective. His voice was quieter but not less impactful.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death brings to a close a remarkable chapter in the history of the American civil rights movement. He is the last of the towering figures of the 1960s whose efforts brought a sea change to national legislation and the way minorities are viewed and treated in this country. However, knowing, as he did, that there is so much left to be done, Rev. Jackson remained in the struggle in his final years.
“You can be out of slavery and have the right to vote, but unless you have access to capital, industry and technology, you can’t fulfill your dreams,” he said of the ongoing fight to bring that American dream into every household.
His family said in their announcement:
“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity. A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote – leaving an indelible mark on history.”