Presbyterians remember the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s many civil rights contributions

February 19, 2026, Office of Public Witness, Presbyterian News Service

The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. died Tuesday morning in Chicago. He was a minister, civil rights royalty, an activist, a husband and a father. As an ordained minister, his activism was deeply rooted in his Christian faith, always advocating for those impoverished, discriminated against, and as Jesus labeled, “the least of these." 

According to WBEZ Chicago, “The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. embodied an era of civil rights leadership that relied on a big charismatic personality. And that he was. Tall and handsome, eloquent and fiery, Jackson whipped up crowds — whether in Black churches the way a Baptist pastor is prone to do or with white rural farmers during one of his two historic runs for U.S. president. Perhaps the nation’s most recognizable civil rights icon for the past half-century, Jackson was a symbol of Black politics and Black America.” Read more.