The Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at age 84. His slogan “I am somebody” echoes in Central Floridian’s minds.
Jackson advocated for decades for a number of issues surrounding the lives of African Americans, including voting rights, education, economic equality and healthcare.
Jackson’s civil rights work spanned six decades, including work with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rainbow coalition, and two presidential campaigns.
Despite health challenges, he continued his activism into his eighties.
“He instilled a certain level of pride, and his slogan ‘I am Somebody’ was tremendously important to improving the self-esteem in young African Americans during the seventies,” said the Rev. Robert Spooney, pastor at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Orlando. When he was a student at Florida A&M University, Spooney said, he attended one of Jackson's speeches.
Jackson visited Orlando several times, preaching at New Covenant Baptist Church. He spoke out on voting rights. He called for justice and led marches after the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
“He opened doors for people like me,” U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, said in a statement. “Because of his courage and sacrifice, so many of us for generations to come, have the opportunity to lead, to serve, and to continue the fight for a better world for us all.”
Jackson ran twice for president of the United States and received the most Black support of any candidate up to that point in 1984 in the Georgia, Alabama and Florida primaries.
“When he decided that he was going to run for president of the United States, he lost but he won,” New Covenant cofounder LaVon Wright Bracy said. “He won in the sense that he gave Black and brown people great motivation to make certain that they register – that they vote. He made sure that they understood how precious the vote was and how we can change America by making our voices heard.”
Jackson was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurodegenerative disorder, in 2025. He died at home surrounded by family.
“His legacy should not die today. It needs to continue, the things that he has worked hard for. And the culture that we are in now, we need to be motivated that we all are somebody; that everybody matters.”
