Jesse Jackson, a Defender of LGBTQ+ Rights

Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson died on February 17, 2026. A protégé of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson was among the last remaining icons of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Known for his fiery oratory, he was often called "the Country Preacher," a moniker that reflected both his humble roots and his lifelong commitment to advocating for the disenfranchised.

His famous speech, "I Am Somebody"—also the title of his 1971 spoken-word album—resonated deeply with me at the time, as an orphan and ward of New York City. In 1984 and again in 1988, I voted for Jackson because he was the only presidential candidate whose campaign openly welcomed people like me: an African American lesbian.

In 2018, I met Jesse Jackson at the Chautauqua Institution, where I was the guest preacher for the week. I thanked him for his decades of public service.

HIV/AIDS Champion

During the AIDS epidemic, the Black LGBTQ+ community often found neither refuge nor welcome in the church. Racism, poverty, healthcare disparities, and violence all contributed to high HIV/AIDS rates in African American communities. But among the most damaging factors were homophobia within the Black Church and its entrenched politics of silence.

"I grew up in the Black Church," Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health, told The New York Times in 1998. "I think the church has problems with the lifestyle of homosexuality. A real problem has been getting ministers who are even willing to talk about it from their pulpits."

Jackson was among the earliest Black ministers and national political leaders to promote AIDS education and prevention. He worked to destigmatize the virus by publicly undergoing HIV testing and urging fellow clergy to do the same. He reframed HIV/AIDS as a public health crisis rather than a moral failing tied to LGBTQ+ identity.

In May 1987, during a speech at Northeastern University, Jackson expressed outrage over President Ronald Reagan's prolonged silence on AIDS. When Reagan finally acknowledged the epidemic, he belatedly labeled it "public health enemy number one," without reckoning with how years of inaction had worsened its spread.

In 2002, through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson launched theOne Million Tests initiative to encourage HIV testing in African American communities and pressure pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of antiretroviral drugs.

Marriage Equality

"Marriage is based on love and commitment—not sexual orientation. I support the right of any person to marry the person of their choosing," Jackson said at a rally outside the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco in December 2010.

Jackson was a full-throated supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. He opposed California's Proposition 8, rejected the idea that marriage equality should be decided state by state, and publicly stated that he would officiate same-sex weddings. At the same time, like many Black Americans, he objected to comparisons between the LGBTQ+ rights movement and the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

That tension was addressed during a June 12 Capitol Hill ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision striking down anti-miscegenation laws. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund released a statement acknowledging historical differences while affirming marriage equality as a civil rights issue:

"It is undeniable that the experience of African Americans differs in many important ways from that of gay men and lesbians... But differences in historical experiences should not preclude the application of constitutional protections to gay men and lesbians who are denied the right to marry the person of their choice."

Rest in Power

Jackson advocated for the LGBTQ+ community—especially Black LGBTQ+ people—at a time when we had few champions. He offered hope when family, church, and society turned their backs on us. In this dark political moment, as hard-won civil rights are once again under threat, he leaves us with the enduring charge from 1988:

"Keep Hope Alive."