The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader considered by many to be the protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died Feb. 17 at the age of 84. 

Jackson was a civil rights leader in the U.S. for decades. In 1965, Jackson and others went to Selma, Alabama, to protest for African-American voting rights. His actions impressed King, who had led an earlier march in Selma, so much that King hired Jackson at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became a mentor to Jackson. 

Jackson eventually left the SCLC and started his own organizations: People United to Serve Humanity, which had similar goals to the SCLC, and National Rainbow Coalition in 1984 to advocate for equal rights for African Americans, women, gay people and others. The organizations merged not long after.  

Jackson also ran for president of the United States in 1984 and 1988 and later became a unofficial representative for the District of Columbia in the U.S. Senate. 

Dr. Kedrick Nicholas, interim president of McNeese State University, said he wants young students at McNeese to understand Jackson’s impact. 

“As a youth and young adult, there is a struggle to value iconic figures because the lack of maturity does not allow you to understand the impact they have on your life,” Nicholas said. “As I have grown to become a mature adult, I recognize what Jesse Jackson did to progress humanity, from his leadership in the civil rights movement to his involvement in politics among other underrepresented populations. Reverend Jackson was an activist who was sometimes criticized for his attempts to advance society. His political stances and ideologies were irrelevant to the fact that he was an American patriot who loved all people. He will be deeply missed.” 

A series of memorial services is set over the next two weeks in Chicago. Jackson’s family said all are welcome to pay their respects. 

“All are welcome–Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing, because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,” Jackson’s family said in a public statement.