"New Yorkers are mourning the loss of Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, influential Baptist minister and one of the strongest American voices for racial and economic justice, who died on Tuesday at the age of 84. Jackson's family said in an official statement that he died peacefully on Feb. 17, surrounded by loved ones. Our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless and the overlooked around the world, the statement read."
"Born in Greenville, SC, on Oct. 8, 1941, Jackson led a life that maintained a commitment to justice and human rights. To many Americans, he appeared to pick up the peaceful fight for equality that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, TN. Jackson witnessed the assassination of King, etched infamously in history, as he was staying at the same motel, the Lorraine Motel, when the fatal shooting of his mentor occurred."
Rev. Jesse Jackson died peacefully on Feb. 17 at age 84, surrounded by loved ones, after battling Parkinson's disease and a November hospitalization. Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson devoted his life to justice and human rights, amplifying marginalized voices and leading demonstrations across the United States. He witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination while staying at the Lorraine Motel. Jackson ran for U.S. President several times, nearly securing the 1988 Democratic nomination. In 1996 he founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which provided scholarships, promoted minority hiring, and helped thousands avoid foreclosure.
Read at www.amny.com
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