Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Dies at 84

Jackson's decades-long advocacy transformed workplace diversity and economic opportunity for minorities across the U.S.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died at 84 on Tuesday, was best known as a political organizing powerhouse, but he began his career by increasing workplace diversity in the business world. From small enterprises to Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs, he broadened economic opportunity for minorities and women nationwide through campaigns like Operation Breadbasket and his work pushing for diversity on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.

Why it matters

Jackson's vision and strategies fundamentally changed how businesses approach workplace diversity and created opportunities for many minorities across the U.S. However, in recent years, some companies have started to roll back the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies they implemented following the racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder, underscoring the ongoing challenges in sustaining progress.

The details

In the 1960s, Jackson led Operation Breadbasket, a campaign to desegregate jobs and increase employment opportunities for Black Americans. He met directly with business owners and inked deals with companies, under threat of or actual boycott or strike. By July 1967, Breadbasket had secured 2,200 jobs worth more than $15 million in annual income. In the 1990s, Jackson took his strategy to Wall Street, advocating for the New York Stock Exchange to close on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and pushing Goldman Sachs to include more minority-owned firms as underwriters for its IPO. In 2014, he turned his sights to Silicon Valley, urging the tech industry to be more transparent about its workforce diversity and commit to improving it.

  • In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference handpicked a 24-year-old Jackson to lead a campaign to increase economic opportunity for Black Americans in Chicago.
  • By July 1967, Breadbasket had secured 2,200 jobs worth more than $15 million in annual income.
  • In 1997, Jackson successfully advocated for the New York Stock Exchange to close on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
  • Ahead of Goldman Sachs' 1999 IPO, Jackson pushed the financial services firm to include more minority-owned firms as underwriters.
  • In 2014, Jackson embarked on a months-long campaign in the Bay Area, urging the tech industry to be more transparent about its workforce diversity and commit to improving it.

The players

Rev. Jesse Jackson

A civil rights activist who dedicated his career to increasing economic opportunity for minorities and women, particularly through his work in the business world.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The civil rights leader who handpicked the 24-year-old Jackson to lead a campaign to increase economic opportunity for Black Americans in Chicago in 1966.

Richard Grasso

The former head of the New York Stock Exchange who backed Jackson's successful campaign to close the exchange on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1997.

Sanford Weill

The co-Chairman of Citigroup who backed Jackson as he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wall Street firms to improve hiring and retention practices and allocate more capital to minority-owned companies.

Tim Cook

The CEO of Apple who met privately with Jackson and was said to have impressed him with his understanding of "the value of inclusiveness."

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What they’re saying

“There was a time when we didn't have black or Asian baseball players—they didn't recruit them. To change that, we had to scout them, and create training camps. We have a better game of baseball because of that. We need to do the same with tech.”

— Rev. Jesse Jackson (Fortune)

“The most important thing is to want to create inclusion and diversity to invent new verticals and horizontals for employees to join. The lack of diversity isn't because people don't have the genetics, it's because of old social patterns that don't let new people in.”

— Rev. Jesse Jackson (Fortune)

What’s next

Despite declining health due to Parkinson's disease, Jackson joined the nationwide boycott against Target after the company announced last year that it would end the DEI goals it had set to increase Black employees' representation and advancement and promote Black-owned businesses.

The takeaway

Jackson's decades-long advocacy fundamentally changed how businesses approach workplace diversity and created opportunities for many minorities across the U.S. However, the recent rollback of DEI policies at some companies underscores the ongoing challenges in sustaining progress, highlighting the need for continued vigilance and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the business world.