Civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson has been suddenly hospitalized in Chicago as details about his condition remain a mystery.
Jackson, 84, was admitted into Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after spending more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement that the reverend is ‘currently under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy,’ a neurodegenerative condition he has been managing for more than a decade.
While originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he was confirmed to have PSP in April, the release stated.
Jackson, born in Greenville, South Carolina, attended the University of Illinois before he transferred and graduated from the North Carolina A&T State University in 1964.
He began working with Dr Martin Luther King Jr during the Civil Rights Movement after deferring his further studies at Chicago Theological Seminary.
The reverend has been dubbed the ‘Conscience of the Nation’ and ‘the Great Unifier,’ according to the PUSH coalition.
‘Jackson [challenged] America to be inclusive and to establish just and humane priorities for the benefit of all,’ the coalition said. ‘He is known for bringing people together on common ground across lines of race, culture, class, gender and belief.’
Jackson founded the Rainbow PUSH coalition, a organization fighting for social change, and garnered national attention in the 1960s as Martin Luther King Jr’s protege.
Civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr, 84, has been critically hospitalized in Chicago
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said that the reverend is ‘currently under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy,’ a neurodegenerative condition he has been managing for more than a decade
Jackson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton on August 9, 2000
His role in activism notably began on his mission to desegregate the local public library in Greenville in the 60s, and then as leader of the sit-in movement.
In 1965, he became a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, according to the coalition.
He was then appointed by King Jr to direct the Operation Breadbasket program, which sought to improve the economic conditions of African Americans by promoting employment and boycotting businesses.
Jackson was ordained in 1967 and received his Master of Divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.
In December 1971, Jackson founded Operation PUSH [People United to Serve Humanity] in Chicago, which advocated for economic empowerment, educational expanse, and business and employment equality.
He then founded the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, a social justice organization based in Washington DC that advocated for political empowerment, education and advocating for changing public policy.
The two organizations merged in 1996. During his work, he campaigned for presidency in 1984 and 1988 and ‘broke new ground’ in US politics.
In his first campaign, he garnered 3.5 million votes and helped the Democratic Party regain control of the Senate in 1986. His second campaign saw over two million new voters and garnered him seven million votes.
Jackson Sr on a Presidential Campaign stop and speech at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel with Rep Maxine Waters
Former President Barack Obama in 2007 with Jackson at the PUSH for Excellence 17th Annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr Scholarship Award Breakfast in Chicago
In 1991, he was elected senator of Washington DC where he advocated for statehood for the nation’s capitol and advancing the ‘rainbow’ agenda at national and international levels, according to the coalition.
In October 1997, Jackson was appointed by former President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as ‘Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa.’
The position saw him travel to several countries in Africa and met with leaders such as President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya, and President Frederick JT Chiluba of Zambia.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton on August 9, 2000.
He has received more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees and frequently lectures at major colleges and universities, according to the coalition.
Since then he has ‘continued to promote voter registration and lead get-out-the-vote campaigns, believing that everyone should be encourage to be a responsible, informed and active voter.’
Jackson has also backed and advocated for policies such as universal healthcare, equal administration of justice, sufficient funding for the enforcement of civil rights laws, and increased attention on business investment in underserved domestic communities.
The civil rights activist married his college sweetheart Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in 1963, with whom he shares five children.
Chief Operating Officer Yusef Jackson was confirmed to now be leading the organization’s ‘long standing mission to protect, defend and gain civil rights by leveling economic and educational opportunities and ensuring social justice and peace.’
