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Jesse Jackson: A life in pictures

Kerena Cobbina
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Jesse Jackson points into the air. He is wearing a blue suit. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

US civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has died aged 84.

Jackson was a key figure during the US civil rights movement of the 1960s, and was known for being the first African-American to make the jump from activism to major-party presidential politics.

Here, we take a look at his life in pictures.

Getty Images A black and white film photo of Jesse Jackson pictured with Rosa Parks, holding hands and appearing united.Getty Images
Jackson pictured in 1965 with Rosa Parks, whose arrest 10 years prior sparked the Montgomery bus boycott
AP photo/Charles Kelly A black and white film photo of Martin Luther King Jr (second R) stands with Hosea Williams (L), Jesse Jackson (second L), and Ralph Abernathy (R) on the balcony of a Memphis hotel on 3 April 1968, taken the day before King was assassinated.AP photo/Charles Kelly
Jackson (centre left) stands alongside Martin Luther King Jr (centre right), Hosea Williams (left), and Ralph Abernathy (right) on the balcony of a Memphis hotel on 3 April 1968 - the day before King was assassinated
Getty Images Jackson addressing people from a podium at PUSH. Getty Images
In 1971, Jackson formed Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) - a new, wide-ranging civil rights group that championed inner-city education and programmes that saw businesses employing black workers
Getty Images Jesse is shaking hands to crowds of people at the March on Washington. He is smiling. Getty Images
Jackson shakes the hands of onlookers at the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr had delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963
Getty Images Jesse Jackson is standing in front of a sign that reads 'jobs, farms, justice, peace' 'vote Jackson' as he is speaking at one of his campaigns. Getty Images
In 1988, he launched his second presidential campaign
Getty Images Trump is pictured wearing a striped- suit looking up, and pointing his finger in the same direction. Jackson is wearing a black suit, staring at where Trump is pointing. Getty Images
Jackson pictured with Donald Trump in 1988 at Trump Plaza, Atlantic City. The president has described Jackson as "a force of nature" with "lots of personality, grit and street smarts"
Getty Images Nelson Mandela is making a fist with his hands and is smiling, as Jackson is looking in the same direction, also smiling. Getty Images
African National Congress President Nelson Mandela and Jackson at a rally to raise funds for voter education in South Africa in 1993
Getty Images Jackson is wearing the presidential medal of freedom while pointing. Bill Clinton is smiling. Getty Images
US President Bill Clinton presents Jackson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in August 2000 at the White House
Getty Images A tearful Jackson has his finger up to his mouth, and is holding a flagGetty Images
Jesse Jackson pictured at the moment Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, was elected in 2008
Getty Images Jackson has his fist up in the air, with others at the rally.Getty Images
After George Floyd was killed on 25 May 2020, Jackson travelled to Minneapolis to take part in demonstrations and press for criminal charges against the police officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin
Getty Images Jackson is wearing a navy suit and tie and is sat in a wheelchair whilst five others are standing around him waving on stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Getty Images
Jackson (centre) appeared on stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 2024, where Kamala Harris was to formally accept the party's presidential nomination

Clarification 2 March 2026: This article was amended to add the title of Reverend to Jackson's name

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