United States civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson has died aged 84.

Jackson “died peacefully” on Tuesday morning, a statement from his family said.

“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shake a global movement for freedom and dignity,” the statement continued.

“Our father was a ⁠servant leader – not ⁠only to our family, ⁠but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the ‌overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said.

⁠The eloquent Baptist ⁠minister was raised in the segregated US South. He ‌became a close associate of Martin Luther King ⁠and twice ran for ⁠the Democratic presidential nomination.

Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017.

He spent decades advocating for the rights of Black Americans and other minorities dating back to the turmoil of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

More to come…