The Reverend Jesse Jackson, groundbreaking civil rights leader, died Tuesday morning at home in Chicago. He was 84.
Jackson died peacefully and surrounded by family, according to a statement from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the social change organization he founded decades ago.
Jackson was admitted to the hospital in November for treatment of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative condition that he had lived with for more than a decade. (Jackson was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but in April 2025 his PSP was confirmed.)
“Our father was a servant leader—not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement. “His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he loved by.”
Jackson’s late-night TV travels were many, including stops at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Chris Rock Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Arsenio Hall Show, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, and The Colbert Report.
He also memorably hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live in October 1984, on the heels of withdrawing from that year’s presidential race, and in September 1991 appeared in the episode hosted by NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
As SNL host, Jackson appeared in the Cold Open with cast member Billy Crystal, who was in blackface as Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy offered Jackson tips on how to host the show, and the two performed a duet of “Red Rubber Ball.”
Jackson’s monologue discussed his presidential run of that year—at the time he’d been only the second African American to mount a nationwide campaign for president of the United States—though he’d lost the Democratic party’s nod to Walter Mondale (who would eventually be trounced by Ronald Reagan).
Said monologue segued into a bit where Jackson darted to the control room to address a technical issue; before he arrived, the white staff was swiftly replaced with an all-Black crew.
The sketches Jackson appeared in included “The Question Is Moot!,” a game show that incisively addressed the political issues of the day; “First Class,” which combined Martin Short’s Ed Grimley character with The Twilight Zone‘s “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”; and a speak-to-camera bit where Jackson addressed SNL‘s lack of Black performers and invited interested minorities to mail Dick Ebersol (who’d replaced Lorne Michaels as EP from 1981-85).
With “Weekend Update” supplanted during the Ebersol years, Jackson anchored “Saturday Night News,” forgoing overt jokes to instead scrutinize the recent Reagan-Mondale debate. Notably, given the current late night climate, Jackson’s “Saturday Night News” appearance clocked the FCC’s Equal Time rule; ostensibly to assuage concerns, Short played a meek Young Republicans staffer who delivered a(n ill-fated) rebuttal.
Jackson’s turn as SNL host also featured a playful ode to UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps served as musical guests.
Some, though, may best remember Jackson from his appearance during Michael Jordan’s September 1991 SNL episode. There, he appeared on “Weekend Update” to deliver a moving reading of Green Eggs and Ham, as tribute to Dr. Seuss, who’d passed away just days prior. Watch that segment below:
God bless and rest in peace. Thank you for helping bring us together with religion, wisdom and compassion. We will miss you.
✝️