Statement from Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools on the Passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson

Tue Feb 17 14:00:00 PST 2026

He understood that access to education and opportunity are not privileges but rights.

Statement from Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools on the Passing of Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.

"Today we honor Civil Rights Leader Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., a man whose life was a testament to the belief that ordinary people, united by purpose, can change the course of history. He was a voice for the forgotten and a force for the possible.

Reverend Jackson dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., defending voting rights and demanding that every American have an equal seat at the table. He understood that access to education and opportunity are not privileges but rights. His call to keep hope alive reminds us how we must approach our work each day with urgency, empathy and an unrelenting belief in the potential of every child.

We extend our deepest condolences to the Jackson family. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the doors he opened and the generations he empowered to carry the work forward."