Jesse Jackson has died at age 84, with his family confirming he passed away peacefully Tuesday surrounded by loved ones.
The Baptist minister and two time presidential candidate became one of the most recognizable voices of the Civil Rights Movement after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr..
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His family said in a statement, "Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world."
No immediate cause of death was provided, though Jackson had lived for more than a decade with progressive supranuclear palsy, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The condition affects a patient's ability to walk and swallow and can lead to serious complications.
Jackson had also revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after receiving outpatient treatment for at least two years at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton paid tribute, saying in a statement that "our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices" and honoring a man who "carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice."
Sharpton added, "Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells."
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era while participating in demonstrations alongside King.
His activism stretched across decades and included two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
In his first run, he secured more than 18 percent of the primary vote and won several primaries and caucuses.
A 1984 profile in The New York Times noted his political impact, stating, "Merely by being black and forcing other candidates to consider his very real potential to garner black votes, which they need, Jackson has had an impact."
The family said public observances will take place in Chicago, with additional celebration of life plans to be announced later.
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