Jesse Jackson: Martin Luther King's Student Who Paved the Way for Barack Obama

Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and Baptist minister who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and became the first Black American to mount a serious presidential campaign, died on February 17, 2026, at age 84. His 1984 and 1988 campaigns won millions of votes, changed Democratic Party rules, and opened the path for Barack Obama's historic 2008 election. Born in segregated South Carolina, Jackson spent six decades fighting for racial justice, voting rights, and social equality.