ERA Mourns Passing of Civil Rights Leader & Women’s Equality Champion Rev. Jesse Jackson

February 17. 2026

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For Immediate Release
Feb 17, 2026

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Statement from Delia Coleman, Deputy Director of Equal Rights Advocates, on the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson:

Feb. 17, 2026–Reverend Jesse Jackson understood that justice, to be real, has to be expansive. His civil rights leadership was never confined to a single struggle. He consistently challenged this nation to reckon with every place where dignity was denied. That expansive, global, and holistic vision is central to understanding the body of his work.

Among his firmest convictions was that gender equality is inseparable from civil rights. Jackson called out institutions that excluded Black women as both inaccurate and immoral, and made clear that equity is a national responsibility, not a courtesy. He stood in solidarity with working-class women “who take the early bus,” and connected their fight for fair pay and safe workplaces to the larger movement.

Now is a particularly salient moment to embrace Reverend Jackson’s vision of a democracy that rejects futures built on fear, intimidation, or scarcity. He believed — and worked tirelessly to prove — that inclusion strengthens a country rather than diminishes it.

We mourn his passing. But his example is not fragile. The values he championed — truth, courage, and the refusal to accept less than full humanity for everyone — remain in the work in front of us. We intend to carry it forward.

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About Equal Rights Advocates

Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.