The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. was met with a warm welcome at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, receiving a standing ovation. At 82 years old, Jackson, who appeared on stage in a wheelchair, greeted the audience with a wave and a thumbs-up but did not deliver a speech that evening. He has been living with Parkinson’s disease since his diagnosis in 2017 and stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization he founded in 1996 to advocate for progressive social change.
Jackson, a prominent civil rights leader and ordained minister, collaborated closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during his involvement with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Throughout his political career, he aimed to expand the Democratic party’s appeal as both an activist and a presidential candidate.
In 1984, Jackson made history by becoming the second Black American to pursue a major-party nomination for president, following Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman to run for the Democratic nomination in 1972. Despite skepticism about his candidacy, Jackson won five primaries and caucuses in 1984, marking a significant milestone as the first Black politician to gain victory in any major-party state primary. He earned a significant portion of the Black vote and garnered 18.2 percent of the overall primary vote; however, he ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to former Vice President Walter Mondale, who was later defeated by Ronald Reagan in the general election.
Jackson’s second presidential campaign in 1988 saw him gain greater support and recognition. He received an endorsement from then-Mayor Bernie Sanders of Burlington, Vermont, who would later become the independent U.S. senator for the state. Jackson’s 1988 campaign is often credited with influencing the Democratic party’s shift leftward on key issues such as healthcare, social welfare, and U.S. relations with Israel. He won 13 state contests in the 1988 Democratic primary but finished second to Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, who secured the nomination. Dukakis was later defeated in a landslide by former President George H. W. Bush in the general election.