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According to NewsOne, Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84. His family confirmed his death in a social post.
Jackson had been battling complications from progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder.
Jackson’s importance in American history can hardly be overstated. Rising to prominence as a protegé of Martin Luther King Jr., he brought both religious passion and sharp political instincts to the civil rights movement. Through the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he pushed for voting rights, economic justice, and corporate accountability, while his 1980s presidential runs brought racial inequality into the national spotlight. His unmistakable speaking skills (part sermon, part rally cry) made him one of the most influential voices of his era.
That same voice helped shape the early political spirit of Hip-Hop. Artists like Public Enemy took Jackson’s energy, urgency, and moral clarity and channeled it into a new cultural language, creating music that felt like movement-building in real time. KRS-One echoed those themes through educational activism and the Stop the Violence Movement, reflecting the same community-first essence Jackson championed. His speeches and slogans didn’t just ring out in churches and rallies; they reverberated through boom boxes and block parties.
As the genre matured, younger generations carried that torch in their own ways. Killer Mike’s economic-justice activism and Kendrick Lamar’s introspective protest anthems show how Hip-Hop’s political edge has expanded beyond slogans into deeper explorations of identity, power, and liberation. While the tone has shifted, the foundation laid by civil rights leaders like Jackson remains apparent. His influence helped make Hip-Hop not just a musical movement, but a political one.
Even now, as he faces serious health challenges, Jackson’s impact continues to ripple through activism, culture, and music. His life’s work demonstrates how powerful a single voice can be, and how its reverberation can shape generations of artists, organizers, and everyday people committed to justice. Big ups to Jesse Jackson! The culture is grateful.
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