Jesse Jackson: tributes and reactions from Bernice King, Trump and Biden after civil rights leader’s death – latest updates

Minority leader of the Senate Chuck Schumer has called Jesse Jackson an “icon” and “fearless warrior” for justice.

In a post on X, he said:

Jesse Jackson was an icon of the civil rights movement and a fearless warrior for justice for all people. He was one of the most powerful forces for positive change in our country and our world. America is a more equal and just place thanks to his work.

My prayers are with his family and all of those who were inspired by him. As we honor Rev. Jackson in the coming days, I will be thinking of the many lessons he taught us: “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.” We should all seek to embody that spirit and serve others the way Rev. Jackson did.

Keep hope—alive!

By the early 1980s, the Democratic party was facing a crossroads. The 1980 landslide election of Ronald Reagan, who clenched the presidency with a whopping 489 electoral college votes against Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter, swiftly pulled the Democratic party to the right in the political and cultural wave of the “Reagan Revolution”.

For those Democratic constituents left behind, however, a challenge was mounting, mostly within US industrial cities whose economies were ransacked by Reagan’s “trickle-down” economics. Record tax cuts for the wealthy had come at the expense of a contracted social safety net, thus exacerbating inequality and collapsing much of the working class into the poor.

Grassroots resistance campaigns spawned across the country in response to this dire urban crisis that had disproportionately devastated African Americans, and between 1982 and 1984 they had registered 2 million new Black voters – the largest gain in registered Black voters since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

These hands-on voter registration drives were orchestrated much in part by Rev Jesse Jackson, the nationally known civil rights activist who died on Tuesday. Jackson had cut his teeth as one of Martin Luther King Jr’s youngest and most charismatic lieutenants in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and throughout the civil rights movement.

By the 1970s, in the wake of King’s assassination, Jackson had transferred the movement’s master-classes in strategic organizing into founding Operation Push, a populist leftist offshoot of the SCLC that coalesced progressive whites, LGBTQ+ communities, environmentalists, Asian Americans, Indigenous Nations, Latinos, anti-war activists, and labor unions.

Jackson led discussions with leadership across the country about the prospect for a national Black-backed progressive movement that could map a viable path to a Democratic nomination for president.

Former president Joe Biden has paid tribute to Jesse Jackson and said the civil rights activist was “determined and tenacious” in his belief in America’s promise.

He said the late civil rights activist was a man of God, as well as a man of the people and that he was “unafraid to work to redeem the soul of our nation”.

In a statement on social media, Biden said:

I’ve seen how Reverend Jackson has helped lead our Nation forward through tumult and triumph. He’s done it with optimism, and a relentless insistence on what is right and just. Whether through impassioned words on the campaign trail, or moments of quiet courage, Reverend Jackson influenced generations of Americans, and countless elected leaders, including Presidents.

Reverend Jackson believed in his bones the promise of America: that we are all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. While we’ve never fully lived up to that promise, he dedicated his life to ensuring we never fully walked away from it either.

Jill and I are grateful to Reverend Jackson for his lifetime of dedicated service and inspirational leadership. We extend our love to the entire Jackson family, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and all those who counted Reverend Jackson as a mentor, friend, and hero.

Govenor JB Pritzker has ordered flags to half-staff across Illinois in honor of Jesse Jackson.

Pritzker, a Democrat, called Jackson a “giant of the civil rights movement.”

“He broke down barriers, inspired generations, and kept hope alive,” Pritzker said in social media posts.

“Our state, nation, and world are better due to his years of service.”

Chairman of the Democrats Ken Martin described Jesse Jackson as “a tireless champion for justice, equality, and human dignity”.

In a post on X, he said:

We mourn the passing of civil rights legend Jesse Jackson, a tireless champion for justice, equality, and human dignity.

Rev. Jackson’s lifelong fight for civil rights helped shape a more just America, and his historic 1988 campaign for President broke barriers and inspired millions.

May his legacy continue to guide us forward.

California representative Ro Khanna said Jesse Jackson was a “giant of our times” as he paid tribute to the civil rights activist.

“Reverend Jackson spoke for all those who the powerful do not see. He inspired us to build a rainbow coalition,” he wrote on X.

“His 1988 Convention speech is one of the greatest in our nation’s history. He was a giant of our times.”

Former vice-president Kamala Harris has also paid tribute to Jesse Jackson, describing him as “one of America’s greatest patriots”.

“He spent his life summoning all of us to fulfil the promise of America and building the coalitions to make that promise real,” she wrote in a post on X, adding that he gave a voice to those who were “removed from power and politics”.

She continued:

He let us know our voices mattered. He instilled in us that we were somebody. And he widened the path for generations to follow in his footsteps and lead. As a young law student, I would drive back and forth from Oakland, where I lived, to San Francisco, where I went to school. I had a bumper sticker in the back window of my car that read: “Jesse Jackson for President.”

As I would drive across the Bay Bridge, you would not believe how people from every walk of life would give me a thumbs up or honk of support. They were small interactions, but they exemplified Reverend Jackson’s life work – lifting up the dignity of working people, building community and coalitions, and strengthening our democracy and nation.

I was proud to partner with and learn from him on this work throughout my career, and I am so grateful for the time we spent together this January. Reverend Jackson was a selfless leader, mentor, and friend to me and so many others.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, said in tribute to Jackson:

Rev. Jesse Jackson understood the immense promise of America and his role in shaping its destiny.

With courage, tenacity and an audacious spirit, he widened our capacity for imagining true unity and deepened our commitment to justice for all.

I was one of the lucky beneficiaries of a vision he never forsook. God bless him and the Jackson family.

Adding to the tributes, former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary in the Biden administration, said Jesse Jackson was a “titan in the struggle for civil rights and racial justice”.

In a tribute posted to social media, he said:

America has lost a titan in the struggle for civil rights and racial justice. From his days at the side of Dr. King, to his moral leadership in this century, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. spent his life pushing our nation closer to its own ideal.

As we pray for his family and loved ones, we should also mark his passing by recommitting ourselves to the vision of a fully free and just society.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said Jackson was “unrelenting crusader for civil rights, equality and opportunity”.

He also remembered sharing the pulpit with him in 2016 as he paid tribute to him in a post on X.

He wrote:

Rev. Jesse Jackson was a change maker, a boundary breaker, and a passionate and unrelenting crusader for civil rights, equality and opportunity. To be around him felt like you were experiencing history.

It was an honor to share the pulpit with him back in September of 2016 at Sharon Baptist Church in West Philly. I hung on his every word and could feel how much his presence meant to the congregation.

Lori and I are praying for his wife Jacqueline, his family, and everyone he inspired over the years. May the memory of Rev. Jesse Jackson be a blessing.

President Donald Trump has said Jesse Jackson was a “good man” in a social media post, in which he reels off the many ways he claims to have supported the civil rights activist over the years.

Trump paid tribute to Jackson, describing him as “very gregarious” and said he had known him over many decades.

Writing on Truth Social, he said:

He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and “street smarts.” He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people! Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.

I provided office space for him and his Rainbow Coalition, for years, in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street; Responded to his request for help in getting CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM passed and signed, when no other President would even try; Single handedly pushed and passed long term funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), which Jesse loved, but also, which other Presidents would not do; Responded to Jesse’s support for Opportunity Zones, the single most successful economic development package yet approved for Black business men/women, and much more.

He also claimed that Jackson “could not stand” former president Barack Obama, adding:

Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!

The Georgia senator Rev Raphael Warnock said that Jackson worked to “remind America that equal justice is not inevitable” as he paid tribute to the civil rights activist.

In a post on X, he said:

America has lost one of its great moral voices. Reverend Jesse Jackson spent his life working to ensure our nation lives up to its highest ideals. From his early days as a young staffer with Dr. King onto the national stage, he fought for freedom, racial justice, equality, and for the human dignity of the marginalized and the poor.

As a kid growing up in public housing while watching him run for President, Rev. Jesse Jackson gave me a glimpse of what is possible and taught me to say, “I am somebody!” As an adult, I was proud to call him a friend.

With an eloquence and rhythmic rhetoric all his own, Jesse Jackson reminded America that equal justice is not inevitable; it requires vigilance and commitment, and for freedom fighters, sacrifice.

His ministry was poetry and spiritual power in the public square. He advanced King’s dream and bent the arc of history closer to justice.

The former mayor of New York City Eric Adams has paid tribute to Jackson’s “unshakable belief in justice” and said he “never stopped pushing America to be better than it was the day before”.

Writing on X, he said:

Today, we mourn the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson, a man whose life was defined by faith, courage, and an unshakable belief in justice.

As a young man, I watched him stand shoulder to shoulder with Dr. King and carry that movement forward when the cameras were gone and the work was harder. He never stopped pushing America to be better than it was the day before.

Rev. Jackson reminded us that leadership is about lifting others, that faith must move us to action, and that no community is too small to matter.

New York City stands on the shoulders of giants like him.

His faith shaped his leadership, and his leadership shaped a generation. May God bless his memory.

Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the House Democrats, has also joined the chorus of tributes to Jackson.

In a post on X, Jeffries said he was “the people’s champion” and a “trailblazer extraordinaire”.

He wrote:

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. was a legendary voice for the voiceless, powerful civil rights champion and trailblazer extraordinaire.

For decades, while laboring in the vineyards of the community, he inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all.

We are thankful for the incredible service of Rev. Jesse Jackson to the nation and his profound sacrifice as the people’s champion. May he forever rest in power.

The mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani has paid tribute to Jackson, calling him a “giant in the civil rights movement”.

In a post in X, Mamdani said:

Today we mourn the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, a giant of the civil rights movement who never stopped demanding that America live up to its promise.

He marched, he ran, he organized and he preached justice without apology.

May we honor him not just in words, but in struggle.

Jason Rodrigues is a researcher and writer in the Guardian’s research department

As a trailblazing US civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson spread his message both at home and abroad, and he was no stranger to the United Kingdom. Groups campaigning for racial equality frequently invited him to address rallies and demonstrations.

In 1969, the Guardian reported on an invitation extended to Jackson by the UK Black Power movement, at a time when controversial voices on the British far right, notably Enoch Powell, were challenging UK immigration policy and opposing moves toward racial integration, which outlawed discrimination.

Jackson was asked to address a rally at London’s Trafalgar Square and to share a platform with leading figures on the British left, including Tariq Ali and Obi Egbuna, an influential leader in the British Black Panthers, founded in Notting Hill in 1968.

Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr, has posted a tribute to Jesse Jackson, saying her “family shares a long and meaningful history with him”. In a statement posted to X, King wrote:

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. devoted his life to lifting people in poverty, the marginalized, and those pushed to society’s edges.

Through Operation PUSH, he pushed barriers and opened doors so Black people and other excluded communities could step into opportunity and dignity.

With the Rainbow Coalition, he cast a bold vision of an inclusive society-uniting people across race, class, and faith to build power together and expand the table of economic opportunity.

He was a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed. My family shares a long and meaningful history with him, rooted in a shared commitment to justice and love.

As we grieve, we give thanks for a life that pushed hope into weary places. May we honor his legacy by widening opportunity, uplifting the vulnerable, and building the Beloved Community. I send my love and prayers to the Jackson family.