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Jesse Jackson: Quick Facts

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Steppenwolf Theatre will return to London with "Purpose" • Oct. 28, 2026, 8:55 AM ET (Chicago Tribune)

Facts

Also Known As Jesse Louis Burns
Born October 8, 1941 • Greenville • South Carolina
Died February 17, 2026 (aged 84)
Founder National Rainbow Coalition • Operation PUSH
Political Affiliation Democratic Party
Awards And Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000)
Role In American civil rights movement • Million Man March • United States presidential election of 1984 • United States presidential election of 1988 • Operation Breadbasket

Photos

Confident, compassionate, controversial
Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter King, Harry Belafonte, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, and John Lewis lead a large memorial march in Memphis after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
Young, passionate, and powerful
Keep hope alive
A dream fulfilled
Selma to Montgomery reenactment
Jesse Jackson, 1988
See All Images →
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James Luther Bevel
American minister and political activist
Andrew Young
Andrew Young
American politician, civil rights leader, and clergyman
Rosa Parks sitting on a bus
Rosa Parks
American civil rights activist
Diane Nash
Diane Nash
American civil rights activist
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
American civil rights activist
Hooks, 1991
Benjamin L. Hooks
American jurist, minister, and government official
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
American civil rights activist and religious leader
James Lawson
James Lawson
American minister and civil rights activist
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth stands in a suit outside the heavily damaged remains of his house after a bombing, with collapsed roof and debris behind him, Montgomery, Alabama.
Fred Shuttlesworth
American minister and civil rights activist
Septima Poinsette Clark
Septima Poinsette Clark
American educator and civil rights advocate
Hosea Williams
Hosea Williams
American civil rights leader and politician
Ella Baker
Ella Baker
American activist
Ralph David Abernathy
Ralph David Abernathy
American pastor and civil rights leader
Barry, Marion
Marion Barry
American civil rights activist and politician
default image
Al Raby
American civil rights activist
Al Gore speaks at a podium with two microphones, gesturing with his right hand, in front of a blue backdrop with a partial white emblem.
Al Gore
vice president of United States
Gary Hart
Gary Hart
United States senator
Powell, 1967
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
American legislator
Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
American civil rights activist and politician
John Lewis
John Lewis
American civil rights leader and politician

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