United for Peace & Justice is deeply saddened by the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, and we express our condolences to his family and loved ones. Many movements for peace and justice have lost a visionary, a mentor, and a moral leader, but we will carry on the work, inspired by Jesse’s immortal admonition, “Keep hope alive!” Here we have assembled a selection of tributes and reflections on Jesse Jackson’s tremendous contributions to efforts in support of peace and justice.
In The Life Work of Jesse Jackson, Michael K. Smith writes, “His Rainbow Coalition spanned the whole of society: farmers, white unionists, feminists, Hispanics, students, environmentalists, and a full 95% of black people…. He called for a freeze on nuclear weapons, large cuts in Pentagon spending, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe, the elimination of first-strike MX, Cruise, and Trident D-5 missiles, as well as the canceling of Reagan’s first-strike enabling Star Wars delusion. Alone among [Presidential] candidates, he held that Palestinians were a people deserving of national rights and a homeland.”
In his preface to a stunning collection of black and white photographs, photos from the edge 27 – JESSE JACKSON, PRESENTE!, labor photographer David Bacon writes, “He didn’t come just for labor, of course. He came for the students, battling the University of California to keep affirmative action. He walked with the women at the head of the National March to Fight the Radical Right. And amidst it all, I sometimes found a man lost in his thoughts, perhaps grateful for a moment out of the crowd. You were there for us, Jesse.”
From an international perspective, in As War Tensions Rise, Jackson’s Call for Peace and Justice Endures, Dr. Ghassan Shahrour writes, “Rev. Jesse Jackson, who passed away on February 17, 2026, leaves behind a legacy that extends far beyond the civil-rights milestones that first defined his public life…. Equally defining, though less widely acknowledged, was Jackson’s unwavering commitment to peace and disarmament. From the 1980s onward, he emerged as one of the most consistent American voices urging an end to the nuclear arms race. He warned that humanity could not survive a world governed by fear, militarization, and the unchecked spread of weapons…. Jackson’s voice reminds us that human security begins with justice, not armament…. As we reflect on his passing, one truth stands out: the most faithful tribute to his legacy is to resist the normalization of war and the quiet expansion of armament, and to defend justice wherever it is threatened.”
As Bishop William J. Barber II writes in Jesse Jackson: Prophet of America’s Possibility, “Jesse showed us how moral leadership can rally a fusion coalition that isn’t possible when we do politics as usual…. Jesse’s mantra was “Keep hope alive,” but he knew hope was not just wishful thinking. Real hope isn’t passive. It comes from deep faith and moral commitment, when people can no longer accept the way things are and set out to change them. That’s when hope is born, nurtured, and grown. And that’s where Jesse chose to be his whole life long.” Barber concludes,
“May we all take up his hope for the America that has never yet been but nevertheless must be.”
Jesse Jackson presente!
