American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson died on Tuesday at the age of 84, according to a statement from his family. Jackson, who worked alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, was awarded the Légion d'honneur, France's highest order of merit, in 2021 in recognition of his lifetime of activism.
"The values promoted by Reverend Jackson are universal and are those of the Republic," read the statement from the Elysée Palace on the occasion of Jackson receiving the honour, on 19 July, 2021.
It added that Jackson had inspired generations of activists and leaders around the world with his message rejecting "all forms of racism and exclusion".
President Emmanuel Macron told Jackson: "From your earliest years, you were hungry for knowledge and justice, and you are a special friend of France, a brother for us."
Jesse Jackson to be awarded France's Legion of Honour
Political bids
Born Jesse Louis Burns on 8 October, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, to an unwed teenaged mother and a former professional boxer, he later adopted the surname of his stepfather Charles Jackson.
He excelled at school – a segregated high school – and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, but later transferred to the predominantly black Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, where he received a degree in sociology.
In 1960, he participated in his first sit-in, in Greenville, and then joined the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches in 1965, where he caught Martin Luther King's attention.
Working closely with King in the 1960s at his Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organisation fighting for civil rights in a spirit of non-violence, Jackson was with King in Memphis when he was assassinated in 1968.
Civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson urges people to vote
Jackson launched two social justice and activism organisations of his own: Operation PUSH in 1971, and the National Rainbow Coalition a dozen years later. The two groups merged in 1996 to become the Rainbow Push Coalition, which campaigns for minority rights, particularly voting rights.
After running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, he was appointed by Bill Clinton as his envoy to Africa. He was a prominent advocate for ending apartheid in South Africa.
His runs at the nomination, although unsuccessful, brought him to greater prominence. A 1988 speech he made urging Americans to find "common ground" made a particularly strong impression, with Jackson saying: "The left wing, the right wing... you need two wings to fly."
Observers also say his bids ensured that African American issues became fundamental to the Democratic Party platform and helped lay the groundwork for the election of Barack Obama, America's first black president, two decades later. Jackson openly wept in the crowd as Obama celebrated his win in 2008.
Dinner with Le Pen
In 2016, Jackson inadvertently dined with French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in Paris – unaware of who Le Pen was. Once it was revealed to him, Jackson voiced his "disgust" at Le Pen's political ideas.
Jackson was visiting France to attend events commemorating the abolition of slavery, and attended a dinner at a restaurant with his wife, to which Le Pen had also been invited by a third party.
When Le Pen posted a photo of the two sitting together to Twitter, Jackson responded: "Did not know you were coming to dinner. Never met you before. Do not share your beliefs."
He later said: "If I had known he was who he is, I would have left out of my disgust with some of his policies... I find the ideas of xenophobia and anti-Semitism repugnant and very unhelpful to making a peaceful world."
Jackson had previously been accused of anti-Semitism himself, when in 1984 he described New York as "Hymietown" – using a pejorative term for Jews. He apologised for this remark in a speech before national Jewish leaders.
He was also criticised in the early 1980s for his ties to black nationalist leader Louis Farrakhan, known for his anti-Jewish rhetoric.
Jesse Jackson ‘didn’t know’ who J-M Le Pen is
Jackson's family statement read: "His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity. A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilising millions to register to vote - leaving an indelible mark on history.
"His unwavering belief in justice, equality and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honour his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by."
No cause of death was given, but Jackson revealed in 2017 that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife and six children.
(with newswires)
