The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the American civil rights movement, longtime Baptist minister and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, died Tuesday, his family announced. He was 84.

In a statement, the Jackson family described him as a “servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.”

“We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family,” the statement read. “His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton called Jackson “one of our nation’s greatest moral voices,” praising a leader who “carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice.”

“Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home,” Sharpton said. “His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. His presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered.”

A cause of death was not immediately released. His family said he died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.

Jackson had faced significant health challenges in recent years. He had been living for more than a decade with progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, a rare neurological disorder that affects movement, balance and swallowing and can lead to serious complications, according to his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He was hospitalized in November.

In 2017, Jackson disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He had received outpatient treatment at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago for at least two years before making the diagnosis public.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson rose to national prominence during the civil rights era, working closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and participating in major demonstrations across the country. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he became a leading advocate for racial equality, economic justice and political empowerment.

Jackson twice sought the Democratic nomination for president, mounting historic campaigns in 1984 and 1988 that broadened the party’s coalition and helped pave the way for greater minority participation in national politics.

Public observances will be held in Chicago, the family said, with additional details about celebration-of-life events to be announced by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.