Maryland leaders are remembering civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at age 84. They described Jackson as a courageous advocate who broke barriers for disenfranchised communities in the U.S. and abroad.

“Of the many shoulders we stand on, Jesse Jackson’s were amongst the broadest,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement.

Moore called Jackson a “champion for the dignity of the working people” and a trailblazer in the Civil Rights Movement who led with love and turned “protest into progress.”

Jackson died at home surrounded by family, his daughter Santita Jackson said. His loved ones said Jackson was a “servant leader” to those who are oppressed and overlooked around the world.

He was an advocate for voting rights — he joined the 1965 voting rights march led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama — and he pressured corporate leaders and executives to publicly commit to diversifying their workforces. He ran for president twice in the 1980s, winning 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988.

Jackson’s death was felt in Maryland. The civil rights leader campaigned in Baltimore and Prince George’s County during his runs for the presidency, and he gave speeches at the University of Maryland and Morgan State University.

“His 1988 speech at the Democratic National Convention was one of the finest I have ever heard,” Morgan State President David Wilson said in a social media post. He added that Jackson delivered “an equally powerful commencement message” at the university in 2015.

“We will ‘keep hope alive’!” Wilson said.

Jackson’s run for presidency changed “the face of electoral politics,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, and “prepared generations to carry the torch forward.”

Jackson was “the first Black candidate to become a serious contender” in a national contest, according to The New York Times.

“Whether you were imprisoned by injustice or indignity, he was there to remind you, ‘I am somebody,’” Alsobrooks said. “Time and time again, Rev. Jackson stood at the front, putting his own life at risk in an effort to liberate millions more.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Jackson was a role model for young Black men and women and a fierce advocate for all. “Today and every day, we commit to carrying on his legacy, and keeping hope alive,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume praised Jackson’s passion for justice, saying, “He gave so much and asked for so little.”

“Simply put, for many of us, he was, and will always be, remembered as ... the man, the message and the movement,” said Mfume, who represents parts of Baltimore and Baltimore County.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller mentioned Jackson in her remarks at the State House as the Moore-Miller administration prepared to sign legislation banning formal partnerships between local government and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Jackson, she said, spent his life “insisting that this nation lives up to its promise.”

“That promise does not sustain itself,” she said. “It requires leaders willing to act.”

In a statement, Sen. Chris Van Hollen recalled meeting Jackson years ago. Jackson energized the entire room, Van Hollen said, just as he energized “the movement he helped lead.”

“To honor his legacy, we must carry forward the hope that drove him, and continue working to build our more perfect union,” Van Hollen said.