Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He is the father of former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. and current Representative Jonathan Jackson. Jackson began his activism as a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and founded the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. He extended his activism internationally in the 1980s, becoming a critic of the Reagan administration. Jackson ran for president twice, finishing in third place for the Democratic nomination in 1984 and as the runner-up in 1988. He later served as a shadow U.S. senator.