Jackson is survived by his wife Jacqueline and their children: Santita, Jesse Jr, Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline and Ashley.
In their statement, Jackson’s family said his “unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity”.
“A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilising millions to register to vote – leaving an indelible mark on history,” they added.
Along with working with Martin Luther King, Jr, and running for president in 1984 and 1988, Jackson is remembered as the founder of a nonprofit organisation focused on social justice and civil rights, the Rainbow PUSH coalition.
Calling Jackson a “true giant”, Obama said in a statement that Jackson’s “two historic runs for president” had “laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land”. Obama added that his wife Michelle “got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager”.
“For more than 60 years, Reverend Jackson helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history,” the Obamas also said in the statement.
“From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect.”
Jackson was admitted to hospital last November, and doctors said he had been diagnosed with a rare degenerative condition called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in April 2025, revising an earlier diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease that Jackson had said was made in 2015.
Both diseases affect the brain, nervous system, and muscle control and, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association and the group CurePSP, many people with PSP are initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s because a number of the symptoms overlap.
Born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson became involved in politics at an early age. He rose to prominence in the 1960s as a leader in Martin Luther King, Jr ‘s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was with King when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
Over the course of his career, Jackson built a movement to bring America’s increasingly diverse population together, with a message that centred on poor and working-class Americans.
After his presidential runs, Jackson later positioned himself as an elder statesman within the Democratic Party.
His son Jesse Jackson, Jr is a former US congressman.