Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at age 84.
The civil rights activist and Baptist minister died surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday, February 17, his family said in a statement. No cause of death was given.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” Jackson’s family said in a statement to NBC News. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson was one of the most important figures in the U.S. civil rights movement. He also ran twice for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
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Fellow civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, a mentee of Jackson’s, paid tribute to the late minister in a statement on Tuesday.
Sharpton told NBC News that “our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices” and heralded Jackson, who he said “carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice.”
“Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. His presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered,” Sharpton added.
In November 2025, Jackson was hospitalized in Chicago for symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a social change nonprofit organization founded by Jackson in 1971.
“The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. was admitted to the hospital today and is currently under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP),” Rainbow PUSH said in a statement at the time.
“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his PSP condition was confirmed. The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” the statement continued.
According to the Mayo Clinic, progressive supranuclear palsy “is a rare brain disease that affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing. The disease results from the damage of cells in areas of the brain that control body movement, coordination, thinking and other important functions.”
Symptoms of the disease worsen over time and can lead to complications, including pneumonia and trouble swallowing, per the academic medical center. There’s no cure for progressive supranuclear palsy, which means treatment is usually focused on managing symptoms of the disease.
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Jackson first announced he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017, but his diagnosis was changed to PSP in 2025.
“Throughout my career of service, God has kept me in the embrace of his loving arms, and protected me and my family from dangers, seen and unseen,” Jackson said in a November 2017 post on X. “Now in the latter years of my life, at 76 years old, I find it increasingly difficult to perform routine tasks, and getting around is more of a challenge. My family and I began to notice changes about three years ago.”
“After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father,” he said.
“Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” Jackson continued. “For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression.”
“I want to thank my family and friends who continue to care for me and support me,” he concluded. “I will need your prayers and graceful understanding as I undertake this new challenge.”
Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, 81, and their five children: Santita, 62, Jesse Jr., 60, Jonathan, 60, Yusef, 55, and Jacqueline, 50. (Jackson also has a daughter born out of an extramarital affair.)
