Jesse Jackson Cover

Jesse Louis Jackson (October 8, 1941 - February 17, 2026) was a civil rights activist, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Bom in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to national prominence as a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and became one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He founded the organizations that later merged to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and his influence extended to international matters in the 1980s and 1990s. He hosted Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000.
Jesse Jackson was awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1989, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton in 2000, and France's Legion of Honor in 2021.