The protege of Martin Luther King Jr. was hospitalised in recent months and was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy, a Rainbow PUSH coalition spokesperson said.
Jackson died on Tuesday, surrounded by family, according to a statement posted online.
He first rose to prominence in the 1960’s as a close aide to Martin Luther King Jr.
After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil leaders in America – to the chagrin of some of King’s aides, who thought he was too brash.
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