DAVENPORT, IOWA (February 17, 2026) — The world is mourning the passing of Rev Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon in the United States and elsewhere who died Tuesday at age 84.
Jackson became the leader of the US Civil Rights Movement after the assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, and enhanced his voice for equality by running for president in 1984 and 1988. He was a global advocate for racial equality and voting rights, and for access to health-care and education. Two of his five children went on to serve in the US Congress.
“Rev Jackson leaves a lasting legacy and a roadmap for current and future leaders to follow,” said Rev Elder Cecilia Eggleston, moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) worldwide.
“His tireless determination to advance racial equality in the United States was matched only by his passion for serving all underprivileged and disenfranchised communities. Our clergy and congregations around the world celebrate his legacy while grieving this great loss.”
“The American people today mourn the loss of a Civil Rights icon,” said MCC Elder Hattie Alexander-Key.
“Rev Jessie Jackson fought for all of the disadvantaged, displaced, despised, and downtrodden people. From Montgomery to the Rainbow Coalition, his aim was to encourage America to keep the promise of liberty and justice for all.”
“He was a towering figure,” said Civil Rights Movement veteran Darryl Walker, a longtime member of MCC of Washington DC.
“I admired his commitment to doing the work of justice for all people. Some people would do interviews on the news; Jesse Jackson would go where others wouldn’t go. He would always just show up.”
"I am really proud to be living in the state of Michigan, which Rev Jackson carried in the 1988 Presidential primary election,” said MCC’s Rev Elder Carolyn Mobley-Bowie.
“His Rainbow Coalition was indicative of the vastly inclusive community he built around himself."
Jackson himself spoke at All God’s Children MCC in Minneapolis in 1988, when the church hosted a forum. Jackson was the only one of the candidates for president to attend.
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