États-Unis : Décès de Jesse Jackson, figure de la lutte contre la ségrégation raciale
He was all at once an icon for African Americans, a historical figure linked to Martin Luther King Jr., and a former US presidential candidate. The African American pastor Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84.
His family announced that he died "peacefully on Tuesday, surrounded by his family," in a statement published on social media.
"His unwavering commitment to justice, equality and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity," she said.
"Our father was a leader and a servant — not only to our family, but also to the oppressed, the voiceless and the forgotten throughout the world."
"His unwavering faith in justice, equality and love inspired millions of people and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values that guided his life."
Throughout his life, the reverend played a significant role in the fight for racial equality in the United States, becoming a monument in the country's history, its entire history, both its dark and light sides.
Present in Memphis when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, he also witnessed 40 years later the victory of Barack Obama, the first black president in the country's history.
His notoriety and aura within American politics had grown with his two presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, thus broadening the Democratic political platform to include the struggles of African Americans.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson also made a lasting impression with a speech on the "common ground," urging Americans to unite. "Left wing, right wing (...), you need two wings to fly."
"Passionate speaker"
He remained committed throughout his life. In 2021, Jesse Jackson attended the trial of three men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black jogger, who was shot dead the previous year in Brunswick, Georgia.
His three assassins had been betrayed by a video. The young jogger had become a symbol of the anti-racist "Black Lives Matter" movement.
"A passionate orator, Jesse Jackson was a moral and political force who brought together a 'rainbow coalition' of poor and working-class people. His mission, he said, was 'to transform the spirit of America,'" the New York Times wrote on Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson was hospitalized in November after doctors diagnosed him with a severe degenerative condition, according to US media. He revealed in 2017 that he had Parkinson's disease, which affects the nervous system and progressively restricts movement and daily activities.
Jackson had described the illness as a "physical challenge", but had continued his activities for as long as possible.
Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 8, 1941. His mother, Helen Burns Struggs, was 16 years old at the time, unmarried, and had given him the name Jesse Burns.
It was only in his adolescence that his mother married Charles Jackson, whose surname young Jesse took.
"He was a visionary, far-reaching leader who changed this nation and the world. He shaped public policy and changed laws," said Reverend and civil rights figure Al Sharpton on Instagram, posting a picture of himself with Jackson.
"He kept the dream alive and taught young children from broken homes, like me, that we were not broken in spirit. He told us we were somebody and made us believe it," he added.
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