Reverend Jesse Jackson at his last Democratic National Convention appearance, 2024
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Jesse Jackson speaking at the 1984 Democratic National Convention
Reverend Jesse Jackson, an icon of the United States Civil Rights Movement, died Tuesday morning at age 84.
A statement said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
The statement continued that Reverend Jackson was a servant leader - not only to his family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world
He fought for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s and was twice a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017 and was hospitalised for observation last November after being diagnosed with a degenerative condition.
Jamaica
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, reacting to Reverend Jackson's passing, said he was without doubt one of the most positively consequential civil rights leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Dr Holness said his activism, which centred on championing economic, racial and social justice and empowering Black, minority, and working-class people, including voters, had global impact and will resonate for centuries to come.
He said humanity owes Reverend Jackson a debt of gratitude, adding that his passing is a significant moment in history.
Jesse Jackson was a friend of Jamaica and was one of the earliest foreign dignitaries to arrive with material support after Hurricane Gilbert devastated the island in 1988.
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