Civil Rights Icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Dies at 84 As President Trump Issues Personal Tribute

From Civil Rights Marches to Presidential Campaigns

Jackson was not merely a witness to history — he sought to shape it.

In 1984 and again in 1988, Jackson ran for President of the United States, becoming one of the first African American candidates to mount a serious bid for the Democratic nomination. His 1988 campaign in particular energized a multiracial coalition of voters and helped lay the groundwork for broader Black political participation in national elections.

Through his “Rainbow Coalition” message, Jackson emphasized unity across racial, economic, and geographic divides — an approach that would later echo in subsequent Democratic campaigns, including that of Barack Obama.

Though Jackson never secured the presidency, his campaigns expanded the political map and changed the calculus of modern Democratic politics.

Global Diplomacy and Domestic Pressure

Jackson’s crusading extended beyond American borders. Over the years, he negotiated or facilitated the release of hostages abroad, met with controversial foreign leaders, and inserted himself into complex geopolitical crises — sometimes drawing praise for humanitarian intervention, sometimes criticism for freelance diplomacy.