Jesse Louis Jackson (born Jesse Louis Burns; October 8, 1941 to February 17, 2026) was an American civil rights leader, politician, and Baptist minister. A close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, he rose to become one of the most visible and influential civil rights figures in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. From 1991 to 1997, he served as a shadow delegate and shadow senator representing the District of Columbia. He was the father of U.S. Representative Jonathan Jackson and former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.
Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and began his activism in the 1960s. He founded organizations that later came together as the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a major vehicle for his civil rights and social justice work. In the 1980s he expanded his efforts into international and national politics, becoming a strong critic of the Reagan administration and launching a presidential campaign in 1984. Initially seen as a long-shot candidate, he ultimately finished third in the race for the Democratic nomination, behind Walter Mondale and Gary Hart. He remained active in public life and mounted another presidential bid in 1988, this time finishing second to Michael Dukakis.
Although he did not run for president again, Jackson was elected in 1990 as the District of Columbia’s shadow senator and served one term spanning the Bush and Clinton administrations. He began as a critic of President Bill Clinton but later became one of his supporters. From 1992 to 2000 he hosted the program “Both Sides with Jesse Jackson” on CNN. A persistent critic of police brutality, the Republican Party, and conservative policies more broadly, he came to be regarded as one of the most influential African American activists of his generation.
Early life……………
Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, an 18‑year‑old high school student, and Noah Louis Robinson, her 33‑year‑old married neighbor. His family background included Cherokee heritage, enslaved African Americans, Irish plantation owners, and a Confederate sheriff. Robinson, a former professional boxer, worked for a textile brokerage and was well known within the local Black community. About a year after Jesse’s birth, his mother married Charles Henry Jackson, a maintenance worker at the post office, who later adopted Jesse. Jesse took his stepfather’s surname but kept a close relationship with Robinson and later said he regarded both men as his fathers.
