Jesse Jackson Dies At 84
US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84, his family says in a statement.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked,” they say
In the 1960s, Jackson fought for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King Jr, whose daughter remembers Jackson as a “gifted negotiator”
Barack Obama says Jackson was a “true giant” and he “stood on his shoulders” in becoming America’s first black president
US President Donald Trump also pays tribute, calling Jackson a “force of nature” with “lots of personality, grit and street smarts”
Jackson built a career around working to politically organise and improve the lives of African-Americans, and became a national force during his two White House campaigns, writes the BBC’s Anthony Zurcher
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and was hospitalised for observation last November after being diagnosed with a degenerative condition.
