The well‑known American civil‑rights activist Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84, his family announced on Tuesday. Jackson first rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a close aide to Martin Luther King Jr. After King’s assassination in 1968, he became one of the United States’ most influential civil‑rights leaders. His Rainbow Coalition-an alliance of diverse ethnic groups-helped steer the Democratic Party toward more progressive policies. In the 1980s, Jackson ran twice for the party’s presidential nomination but was not elected. No cause of death was initially released; however, Jackson had publicly disclosed a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2017 and had been receiving treatment for at least two years before his passing.