Jesse Jackson showed how love can be a potent force in public life

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, 84, has died, and the article recalls his commitment to nonviolence and to building coalitions and direct-action campaigns that used love as a public force.

The Rev Jesse Jackson died at 84, the article reports, and the author remembers him as a longtime civil rights leader and mentor. Jackson embraced Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of nonviolence and popularized the phrase "I am somebody." He used direct action, boycotts and coalition-building to advance voting rights and economic justice. The piece also notes his presidential campaigns and his continuing public presence even as his health declined. Notable facts: - The article reports that the Rev Jesse Jackson died at 84 years old. - Jackson drew on nonviolent teachings and popularized the phrase "I am somebody." - He organized direct action, boycotts, voter registration efforts and built "rainbow coalitions," according to the article. - The author recalls volunteering on Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign and describes its appeal to younger and poorer voters. - The article says Jackson continued to participate in marches and public demonstrations despite advancing illness. Summary: The article presents Jackson's life as a testimony that moral leadership and a politics rooted in love shaped his organizing and efforts to expand democratic participation; it links that legacy to current concerns about political division and gerrymandering. Undetermined at this time.