Jesse Jackson: A life in pictures

BBC World · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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41 minutes agoKerena CobbinaBettmann Archive/Getty ImagesUS civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died aged 84. Jackson was a key figure during the US civil rights movement of the 1960s, and was known for being the first African-American to make the jump from activism to major-party presidential politics.Here, we take a look at his life in pictures.Getty ImagesJackson pictured in 1965 with Rosa Parks, whose arrest 10 years prior sparked the Montgomery bus boycottAP photo/Charles KellyJackson (centre left) stands alongside Martin Luther King Jr (centre right), Hosea Williams (left), and Ralph Abernathy (right) on the balcony of a Memphis hotel on 3 April 1968 - the day before King was assassinatedGetty ImagesIn 1971, Jackson formed Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) - a new, wide-ranging civil rights group that championed inner-city education and programmes that saw businesses employing black workersGetty ImagesJackson shakes the hands of onlookers at the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr had delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963Getty ImagesIn 1988, he launched his second presidential campaignGetty ImagesJackson pictured with Donald Trump in 1988 at Trump Plaza, Atlantic City. The president has described Jackson as "a force of nature" with "lots of personality, grit and street smarts"Getty ImagesAfrican National Congress President Nelson Mandela and Jackson at a rally to raise funds for voter education in South Africa in 1993Getty ImagesUS President Bill Clinton presents Jackson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in August 2000 at the White House Getty ImagesJesse Jackson pictured at the moment Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, was elected in 2008Getty ImagesAfter George Floyd was killed on 25 May 2020, Jackson travelled to Minneapolis to take part in demonstrations and press for criminal charges against the police officer who killed him, Derek ChauvinGetty ImagesJackson (centre) appeared on stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 2024, where Kamala Harris was to formally accept the party's presidential nominationMore on this story