We lost Jesse Jackson when we needed him most
Published 1:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026
Whether it was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s gut-wrenching assassination in 1968, Barack Obama’s initial address as president-elect in November 2008, or any other historic moment relating to Black history over the past sixty-plus years, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. was a major force and presence.
The fact the nation lost such a profound, transformative, and consequential leader this month — Black History Month — at a juncture when Black Americans’ contributions to this nation’s history are being obscured and threatened with eradication, only magnifies his passing.
Jackson possessed a trio of formidable characteristics: moral fearlessness, immense intellect, and ample empathy. He was a global humanitarian whose voice for justice and equality echoed across the world. His work across continents was deeply etched in the impervious sense that civil rights, economic rights, and human rights were inseparably intertwined. Whether he was speaking before heads of corporations or acting as a mediator negotiating human rights issues, Jackson fiercely employed his faith and moral conviction as instruments of diplomacy, justice, and freedom.
His landmark organizations, Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, successfully managed to create a movement that united diverse factions throughout the U.S. His “one inclusive tent” vision brought together Americans from all walks of life under the banner of justice and opportunity. His style and message of leadership provided representation for millions who had long been politically exiled from the nation’s economic and political circles of influence and expanded the democratic process in a manner that continues to affect the nation today.
Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns were significant moments in American political history. They transformed the Democratic Party’s public face as well as the structure of global politics. Both campaigns introduced proportional representation into the Democratic delegate system, an act that dramatically transformed how presidential nominees were chosen and who got the opportunity to have a voice in that process. Devoid of such revolutionary changes, it is highly unlikely we would have witnessed the historic election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first Black president in November 2008.
But Jackson’s campaigns also transformed down-ballot political contests throughout the nation. His legendary grassroots organizing brought fresh energy, voter participation, and much-needed infrastructure to campaigns for city councils, county commissions, and state legislatures.
Like many African Americans, Jackson felt utterly betrayed by much of the Democratic Party’s abandonment of socially progressive issues and their capitulation to Reagan’s unchecked, far-right neocon policies, which openly set out to undo the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. With a bloc of two million new voters, however, Jackson, who earned a reputation as Washington, DC’s “shadow senator,” also knew Black communities held the margin of victory for Democratic primaries in their hands. He knew that power could not be given away to white Democratic candidates who often made an about-face into center-right politics in their general races.
He was not without controversy. In 1984, Jackson punctured a hole in his presidential campaign when he made a private antisemitic remark to a Black Washington Post reporter, which was later included in a Post story. Though he eventually apologized — and went on to finish second behind Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis in the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination — in certain quarters, his brash comment was never forgotten or forgiven.
In 1999, Jackson fathered a child with a woman other than his wife — he had an extramarital affair with a Rainbow PUSH Coalition employee — news that was released publicly in 2001. The press duly covered the revelations, which led CNN to cancel his show “Both Sides.” Jackson endured searing pain when his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, pled guilty in 2013 to misspending $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use and was sentenced to thirty months in prison. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder in which mobility and speech decline over time, among other adversarial challenges.
To me, it was heartwarming to see Jackson onstage at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the city that had been his signature home, paying homage to the first-ever nomination of a Black woman by a major party. He was wheelchair-bound, and his disease by this point had confiscated the greatest of his gifts — the ability to converse. Nonetheless, his presence alone personified dedication, determination, and legacy.
Jesse Jackson has now departed this earth. He was a dynamic figure whose courageous and unyielding efforts made life for Generation Xers like me a lot easier and helped us attain greater success than we might ordinarily have done. Thus, we are forever indebted to him. Rest in peace, Jesse.
Copyright 2026 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.
