Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson hospitalized while battling rare neurodegenerative disease

Noted Civil Rights activist and leader Rev. Jesse Jackson has been hospitalized, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition informed on Wednesday, CNN reported. Jackson has been suffering from supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Reverend Jesse Jackson hospitalized

“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his PSP condition was confirmed. The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” the organization stated in their statement.

PSP, according to CNN’s report, is a rare neurological disorder that affects the body's movements, particularly impairing walking, balance, and eye movements. It is a degenerative condition that leads to serious disability within two to three years after onset. This disease usually targets individuals in their 60s.

Rev. Jesse Jackson’s life and works

Rev. Jackson was a protégé of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and an ordained Baptist minister. He began his activism in the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, as reported by USA Today.

He founded Operation PUSH in 1971, which evolved into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Jackson even ran for the highest office in the country – the President’s – when he sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for the post of President.

The 84-year-old activist became a key figure in the South among the black community, especially those campaigning for an end to racial segregation. He is also said to have been present with Rev. King when he was assassinated.

Having become somewhat debilitated due to his illness, Rev. Jackson quit the leadership of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023, ABC News reports. Perhaps he realized that his condition would not allow him to remain as active as he wanted to be.

Rev. Jackson is one of the last remaining pillars of the Civil Rights movement, which reached its apogee in the 1960s under the indubitable leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. The guidance of people like him is needed more so than ever in these polarized times.

FAQs

Who is Rev. Jesse Jackson?

He is a civil rights activist and a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr.

How old is Rev. Jackson?

84 years old?