HOUSTON – For generations of Americans, Rev. Jesse Jackson wasn’t just a civil rights leader he was a voice of hope. Jackson, who spent decades fighting for equality, economic justice, and voting rights, died at the age of 84 at his home in Chicago surrounded by family.
Across Houston, community leaders are remembering not only his national impact, but the personal relationships he built here.
Historic images capture Jackson’s role in some of the most pivotal moments in American history.
In 1965, he stood alongside activist Rosa Parks, raising his hand during a speech at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Three years later, he was photographed standing behind Coretta Scott King following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helping carry the movement forward during one of its darkest chapters.
In 1984, Jackson made history by running for president, becoming a two-time Democratic presidential candidate. At the time, he said:
“I want the Presidency because I want to affirm my belief that leadership is colorless and genderless.”
His campaigns helped expand voter participation and challenged the Democratic Party’s “winner-take-all” delegate system changes that many credit with reshaping national politics.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis says Jackson’s presidential runs paved the way for future leaders.
“He paved the way for Barack Obama to be president because when he ran for president in ’84 he raised hell about the roots of this winner-take-all process and those changes paved the way for Barack Obama to beat Hillary Clinton.”
While Jackson’s legacy is etched into national history, Houston leaders say his connection to this city was deeply personal.
Bishop James E. Dixon II, pastor of Community of Faith Church, shared a photo of Jackson seated and smiling alongside Dixon and Rev. Bill Lawson the longtime Houston civil rights leader and founder of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, who passed away in 2024.
Dixon says Jackson loved Houston and believed the city played a vital role in the national fight for justice.
“His connection to the Reverend Lawson and so many other leaders here, Rodney Ellis, he was family to us, but it was also for us the voice that said Houston matters on the national level. He reminded us that our power was beyond our geography, that we really matter in the national discussion about freedom and liberation.”
Dixon says Jackson wasn’t just a distant icon.
“This is not just an icon from afar. Jesse Jackson for many of us is a personal friend and love like a brother. Think of all the support you gave him while he was alive. Most people don’t know that.”
Commissioner Ellis says he first met Jackson as a young intern in Washington, D.C., and later served closely alongside him for decades.
“I feel blessed to have met him when I was a young intern in Washington, D.C., and then to become Mickey Lewis’s chief of staff and really be able to get up close and personal to him for so many years. I’ve been on his board for at least three decades. Just a privilege and honor to really know Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, not just as an icon, but to see him as a father, as a husband, love the wife Jackie, and get to know his kids, all of them, so very well.”
Ellis says Jackson demanded accountability and inspired generations to stay engaged politically.
On Tuesday, a coalition of local and national voting groups launched the “Hey Houston Let’s Vote!” campaign aimed at increasing turnout during early voting for the Texas primary election. Organizers said honoring Jackson during the event was fitting, given his lifelong push for civic engagement.
At the podium, Ellis echoed that message:
“This year you make sure you vote like our lives depend on it because they really do.”
Bishop Dixon says Jackson believed activism was not a moment but a way of life.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson understood that this is a lifestyle, it’s not an event. And so every day for him was about how can we improve the human condition for those who are suffering.”
Jackson was widely known for urging Americans to “keep hope alive,” a message that Houston leaders say still resonates today.
Dixon says even now, he can hear Jackson’s voice pushing him forward to organize, mobilize, and continue the fight for justice.
A prayer vigil honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson will be held Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Community of Faith Church in Houston.
For those who knew him personally, remembering Jackson isn’t just about honoring the past it’s about carrying the movement forward.