Reginald Jackson

Reginald Thomas Jackson (April 26, 1954 – November 25, 2025) was an American pastor and bishop. He was the 132nd elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Early life and education Reginald Thomas Jackson was born in Dover, Delaware, to Charles and Lillian Jackson on April 26, 1954. Jackson had three brothers. His father worked as a driver at the local Delaware State College and his mother in food services at Wesley College. in the A.M.E. Church in 2012 at the 49th Quadrennial Session General Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He was elected out of his home Episcopal District (The First Episcopal District) and he stood on the platform: "Imagine the Church at Its Best" and "Strengthen Local Churches!" At the time of his death, he was the Bishop and Presiding Prelate of the 2nd Episcopal District, consisting of Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Community impact In addition to his pastoral and connectional church responsibilities, Jackson served as the executive director of the Black Ministers Council (BMC) of New Jersey, which represents more than 600 African American churches in the State of New Jersey. As executive director of the BMC, he was outspoken on almost every major issue in the state, pressuring the state to increase funding for poor (Abbott) school districts leading to the State Supreme Court to order New Jersey to spend more than eight billion dollars to achieve parity in spending, adequate funding for charity care for those who are uninsured, legislation to end predatory lending targeting minorities and seniors and development of the urban areas of the state. He was best known, however, for his leadership in the fight against racial profiling and reform of the New Jersey State Police which resulted in New Jersey passing legislation and signed by the governor making racial profiling a crime.

Affiliations and awards Jackson served on numerous boards. He was the chairman of the board of trustees of Essex County College, (Newark, New Jersey), member and onetime president of the board of education of the Orange Public Schools (Orange, New Jersey), member of the board of New Brunswick Theological Seminary (New Brunswick, New Jersey), member of the board of Barnabas Health and a life member of the NAACP. He was also a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

He received hundreds of awards, including being named the Man of the Year in 2000 by New Jersey Monthly magazine, the recipient of the William Ashby Award by the United Way, the Martin Luther King Award by the Newark North Ward Center. Jackson has been named repeatedly among the 25 most influential people in New Jersey.

Death Jackson died on November 25, 2025, at the age of 71. Jackson was the husband of attorney Christy Davis-Jackson and the father of two children.