Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized, According To Press Statement

Rev. Jesse Jackson is currently in a Chicago hospital under observation due to his progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) diagnosis. Although Rev. Jesse Jackson was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, it was later confirmed this year that the longtime civil rights leader suffers from PSP.

According to a statement from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson was taken to a Chicago area hospital for additional observation and treatment. Jackson, 84, has been a fixture in the fight for civil rights for over six decades and was mentored by the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rev. Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, S.C. After his mother married, Jackson was adopted by his stepfather and took his surname. A high school athlete in high school in South Carolina, Jackson would eventually attend and graduate from North Carolina A&T University in 1964. He later attended the Chicago Theological Seminary, but stopped attending in the late 1960s to focus his attention on the civil rights movement.

While details of Rev. Jackson’s condition are yet unknown, the family appreciates all warm wishes and prayers for their dear loved one, according to the press statement.

—

Photo: Getty