Streamlly Original
Remembering Jesse Jackson
Reported by Jesse Jines, Toni Mitchell, Michael McDevitt, Samuel Means
- Published: Feb 20, 2026, 2:51 PM EST
- Updated: Feb 18, 2026, 10:25 AM EST
- Duration: 30 sec
- Views: 276
February 20, 2026 — Tributes have poured in for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights pioneer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 84.
President Donald Trump described Jackson as a "good man", "a force of nature like few others," and “someone who truly loved people.”
Former President Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States, called him a “true giant.” Obama wrote in his Jackson tribute that former first lady Michelle Obama "got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons' kitchen table when she was a teenager" and that "in (Jackson's) two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office in the land.”
Jackson, a towering civil rights leader who, as a young man, fought alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped reshape the Democratic Party and America when he became the first Black major candidate to run for president in 1984 and 1988.
While his presidential bids were unsuccessful, Jackson, a man who grew up poor in segregated South Carolina, helped inspire countless generations to believe what was possible in America.
Jackson’s unapologetic message of justice and equality inspired many to follow in his footsteps and become activists, clergy members, civic leaders and lawmakers.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said as a kid growing up in public housing, seeing Jackson as a Black man run for president gave him a look into what was possible, stating that Jackson taught him how to say, ‘I am somebody,’ referring to one of Jackson’s slogans that came from a poem.
Jackson founded the Rainbow Coalition in 1984 during his presidential campaign, bringing together Black, Latino, Asian and Native American communities, along with labor unions, farmers, young voters and poor and working-class Americans. The movement aimed to unite groups often left out of political power and push for economic justice, voting rights and equal access to opportunity. By registering millions of new voters and building a broad, multiracial base, the coalition helped reshape national politics and expand who had a voice in the democratic process.
Jackson’s activism went beyond the United States, with him taking part in several high-profile international mediation causes that helped free hostages and prisoners of war in the 1980’s.
As an unofficial ambassador for humanitarian causes, Jackson used his influence to help secure the release of US Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman after his plane was shot down over Lebanon and Syrian troops took him prisoner of war.
He even traveled to Cuba in 1984 and helped in the release of dozens of American and Cuban political prisoners by then Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton wrote that, "Reverend Jackson championed human dignity and helped create opportunities for countless people to live better lives."
Credits
- Khalil LowryActor / VO Artist/staff/khalil-lowry
- Jesse JinesWriter/staff/jesse-jines
- Toni MitchellSenior Reporter/staff/toni-mitchell
- Michael McDevittVideo Editor/staff/michael-mcdevitt
- Samuel MeansVideo Editor/staff/samuel-means
Transcript
Today we
remember
Reverend
Jesse
Jackson,
the
cascading
legacy
one that
inspired
President
Obama
Walked
alongside
Doctor King,
a symbol
for the
underrepresented,
gave
a voice
to the
voiceless
A legacy
that was
more than
words
A quest
for
equality
He transformed
all he
touched
through
the eyes
of
generations
past
and those
to come
A legacy
lives on