The Latest : The Rev . Jesse L . Jackson death prompts vows to keep hope alive

thebusinessjournal.com · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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17 Feb published on February 17, 2026 - 3:01 PMWritten by Associated Press Many people who knew and worked with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. are vowing to ‘keep hope alive’ in honor of his legacy. Jackson, who led the U.S. Civil Rights Movement for decades, died Tuesday. The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate was 84. Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society. And when he declared, “I am Somebody,” in a poem he often repeated, he sought to reach people of all colors. “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” intoned America’s best-known civil rights activist since King. Santita Jackson confirmed that her father died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family. The Latest: Jackson’s message was hope. His style was rhyme The Rev. Jesse Jackson was profiled by The Associated Press when he was a 41-year-old civil rights activist preparing his historic 1984 campaign for the presidency. The AP has republished that story, by the late AP writer Sharon Cohen, as it appeared on Aug. 7, 1983: He sees himself on the lonely, dusty road of the prophets — a man ordained by the spirit and sent forth like Jesus, Gandhi or the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to show others the way out of the wilderness. “I’m very much driven by my religion to rise,” he says. “There’s a push that comes from religious duty. Gandhi couldn’t stop. Martin couldn’t stop. Jesus couldn’t stop.” Nor, to hear him tell it, can the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. “I’m in the prophetic ministry,” he says. “It’s the kind of ministry ancient prophets engaged in when they challenged the conduct of kings and queens.” ▶ Read more Eric Holder calls for action to maintain Americans’ right to vote Eric H. Holder, Jr., who served as attorney general under President Obama and now chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said Jackson “worked tirelessly to build a fairer, more inclusive America.” “In this moment, as our nation faces the greatest attack on the right to vote since the Jim Crow era, Reverend Jackson’s life and work remind us that progress does not happen by accident — it requires citizens willing to organize and fight for it,” Holder’s statement said. “As we honor his life and legacy, I hope others will be inspired to continue his work toward a better, more just America. Jesse Jackson was a quintessentially good American to whom we all owe a great debt.” United Nations secretary-general praises Jackson’s global human rights record United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Rev. Jesse Jackson “a giant of the civil rights movement in the United States and a longtime champion of human rights, equality and justice around the world,” his spokesman said. “The Reverend Jackson lent his powerful voice to the U.N. to work against racism, against apartheid, and for human rights, including taking part in a number of events here at U.N. headquarters,” Guterres said, according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. ‘A bridge called Jesse Jackson’ across decades of civil rights advocacy From the moment the Rev. Jesse Jackson stepped forward as torchbearer to what was then a largely Southern civil rights struggle — a movement with much unfinished business — he created a bridge. From the South’s fight with Jim Crow to the North’s battle with systemic racial inequality, from the buttoned-up, conservative generation of King’s circle to the dashiki-wearing Black Power leaders and the activists of the hip-hop generation, Jackson forged a link between improbable dreams and political power. “From Martin Luther King to Barack Obama, there’s a bridge called Jesse Jackson,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. ▶ Read more from AP’s deeper take on Jackson’s life Jackson understood economic justice and civil rights are inseparable, Detroit mayor says In 1971, Jackson formed Operation PUSH, originally named People United to Save Humanity. The organization based on Chicago’s South Side declared a sweeping mission, from diversifying workforces to registering voters nationwide. Using lawsuits and threats of boycotts, Jackson pressured executives of top corporations to spend millions and publicly commit to hiring more women and people of color. “His tireless push for supplier diversity and equity in the auto industry ensured that Black-owned businesses and minority entrepreneurs had a real seat at the table in one of America’s most powerful industries,” Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield’s statement said. “Detroit felt that work directly, in our businesses, in our communities, and in the opportunities created for generations of families who called this city home.” Voto Latino praises Jackson for ensuring all voices are represented Jackson, with his lifelong vision of a more equitable nation, “embodied what it means to be a true public servant,” says a statement from the grassroots organization, which works to educate, register and empower young Latinos. Voto Latino counted on Jackson as an ally who shared its commitment to ensuring all voices — “particularly those often ignored, marginalized, or unheard — are represented in the democratic process. At a time where our voting rights are once again under attack, we are called to carry forward his legacy and ‘Keep Hope Alive.’” Obamas credit Jackson for their success while mourning his death Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, expressed deep sadness over the death of someone they regard as a “true giant.” Barack Obama said Jackson inspired countless numbers of people through his work organizing boycotts and sit-ins, registering people to vote and advocating for freedom and democracy around the world. Among those he inspired were the Obamas themselves, the first Black president and first lady in U.S. history. “Michelle got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager,” the former president said. “And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land.” “Michelle and I will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share. We stood on his shoulders,” he said. “We send our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and everyone in Chicago and beyond who knew and loved him.” Retired Rep. Bobby Rush credits Jackson with saving his life Sharing condolences with the Jackson family, the Chicago congressman and former Black Panther said “the Reverend taught me so many things through the enormity of his leadership, his passion, and his endless sacrifices for “the least of these.” “He literally saved my life on the stage of Operation Breadbasket — later to become Operation PUSH — on Saturday, December 6, 1969,” Rush recalled in a statement. “A warrant had been issued for my arrest after the FBI assassinated Fred Hampton. I turned myself in that day, and Reverend Jackson said they’d better return me in the same condition I was in on that stage. If it were not for Reverend Jackson, Renault Robinson, and others, I would have been dead.” “Since then, Reverend Jackson has been a constant presence in both my public and private life,” Rush said. “He taught everybody that we are SOMEBODY, and his spirit will endure forever.” Jackson shed tears of joy at Obama’s victory Jackson did better running for president than any Black politician had before Barack Obama, winning 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988, four years after his first failed attempt. The efforts left supporters chanting another Jackson slogan, “Keep hope alive.” “I was able to run for the presidency twice and redefine what was possible; it raised the lid for women and other people of color,” Jackson once told the AP. “Part of my job was to sow seeds of the possibilities.” And when Jackson joined the jubilant crowd in Chicago’s Grant Park to greet Obama on election night, he had tears streaming down his face. “I wish for a moment that Dr. King or (slain civil rights leader) Medgar Evers … could’ve just been there for 30 seconds to see the fruits of their labor,” he told the AP years later. “I became overwhelmed. It was the joy and the journey.” Jackson family ‘shared him with the world,’ and got the world in return “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online Tuesday. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.” Jackson’s constant campaigns often left his wife, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, the college sweetheart he married in 1963, taking the lead in raising their five children: Santita Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr., and two future members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Luther Jackson and Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who resigned in 2012 but is seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms. Jackson lost his ability to speak towards the end, communicating with family and visitors by holding their hands and squeezing. “I get very emotional knowing that these speeches belong to the ages now,” Jesse Jackson Jr., told the AP in October. Neighbor wonders who could take on Jackson’s role Dominique Ross has lived across from the Jackson home for nine years on Chicago’s South Side. She remembered Jackson for his open smile and welcoming attitude whether he was taking a walk or participating in the Bud Billiken Parade celebrating Black youth and community in Chicago each fall before the school year be