The Mississippi Democratic Party has joined the nation in mourning the passing of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., who died peacefully Tuesday morning surrounded by his family at the age of 84.
A protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a two-time presidential candidate, and the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rev. Jackson was among the most consequential figures in the history of American democracy and the struggle for human dignity.
Rev. Jackson was born on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, S.C. He rose to national prominence as a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was standing alongside Dr. King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on the night of April 4, 1968.
In the years that followed, he channeled his grief and his fury into action — founding Operation PUSH in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, organizations that gave voice to the voiceless and registered millions of Americans to vote.
His historic 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns shattered barriers, transformed the Democratic primary process, and laid the groundwork for a more inclusive and multiracial Democratic Party. As one biographer noted, a Democratic Party that would one day nominate Barack Obama and Kamala Harris began, in many ways, with Jesse Jackson.
His family released a statement Tuesday: "Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world. We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family."
In Mississippi — a state that has long been at the front lines of the fight for voting rights and racial justice — Rev. Jackson's legacy is deeply personal. His tireless advocacy for Black voter registration, economic justice, and the elevation of marginalized communities spoke directly to the experience of Mississippi Democrats, whose work continues in his spirit today.
"'Keep hope alive,' Rev. Jackson told us — over and over, in city after city, decade after decade," said Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor. "Today, the Mississippi Democratic Party commits to doing just that. We will honor his memory not with words alone, but with action. We will keep organizing, keep fighting, keep registering voters and keep building the beloved community he gave his life to create."
The Mississippi Democratic Party has extended formal condolences to the Jackson family, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and all who were touched by this extraordinary man.
