The Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941-2026) was a South Carolina icon and a champion for the civil rights of all people. He believed in the power of a rainbow coalition, a patchwork quilt of Americans from all backgrounds, cultures, faiths, and identities laboring for a better tomorrow.
Rev. Jackson died peacefully on the morning of Feb. 17, 2026, surrounded by his family, according to a statement from the the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. May we all carry on his work together.
A native of Greenville, S.C., Rev. Jackson encouraged people to show up for justice starting at an early age. While he was still in college in 1960, he and 7 other students held a sit-in at the whites-only Greenville Public Library, one of the last remaining segregated libraries in the area. The Greenville Eight were arrested that day.
On July 16, 1960, seven students from Sterling High along with college freshman, Jesse Jackson, entered the library and were arrested. This group became known as the Greenville Eight.
Greenville County Library, via Zinn Education Project
The Greenville Eight were represented in court by Donald J. Sampson, Greenville's first Black lawyer. They ultimately won the right to access the public library, and their charges were dropped. The public library serves all people today.
"We persevered — and now America is better off for it," Rev. Jackson said at a reunion with the Greenville Eight in 2010.
The Greenville Eight's hard-won victory was just the start of a lifetime of advocacy. It is a reminder that it is never too soon, or too late, to join the joyful work of advocating for our rights. Today as we reflect on Rev. Jackson's life and legacy, we say amen to this, from his 1984 Rainbow Coalition speech:
"No matter how difficult the days and dark the nights, there is a brighter side somewhere. In Angola, Mozambique, Nicaragua, El Salvador, South Africa, Greenville, South Carolina, and Harlem, there is a brighter side."
