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Rev. Jesse Jackson hospitalized in Chicago, Rainbow/PUSH confirms

By
Todd Feurer
Todd Feurer
Web Producer, CBS Chicago
Todd Feurer is a web producer for CBS Chicago. He has previously written for WBBM Newsradio, WUIS-FM and the New City News Service.
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Todd Feurer

/ CBS Chicago

Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who twice ran for president in the 1980s, was hospitalized Wednesday for observation of a neurodegenerative condition with which he was diagnosed earlier this year.

The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, which Jackson founded, confirmed Jackson, 84, was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy. 

"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," Rainbow/PUSH said in a statement.

According to Northwestern Medicine, PSP and Parkinson's disease are both conditions that cause slowing of movements, stiffness, tremors, falls, and shuffling of the feet. They also can cause changes in memory or thinking. 

According to Johns Hopkins, PSP is easily mistaken for Parkinson's disease, which is more common. And unlike with Parkinson's, people with PSP are more likely to lean or fall backward rather than forward; and speech and trouble swallowing are affected more with PSP than Parkinson's.

It wasn't immediately clear if Jackson has both PSP and Parkinson's – which is possible, but rare – or if his original Parkinson's diagnosis was a mistake.

Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015, and in 2021 he was hospitalized twice with COVID-19.

Jackson also was hospitalized last month for a lung infection.

In recent months, his relatives, including sons U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former Illinois congressman seeking reelection, have been providing 24-hour care in shifts.

The reverend has struggled to keep his eyes open and is unable to speak. But he has found ways to communicate with family and friends who visit, his son Jesse Jackson Jr. told The Associated Press last month.

"He'll squeeze your hand," he said.

Thursday evening, a spokesperson for Rainbow/PUSH said Rev. Jackson remained in the hospital for observation. While sources earlier said Jackson might be released from the hospital on Thursday, Rainbow PUSH did not say when he would be released:

"We are grateful for the medical team at Northwestern Hospital. Reverend Jackson is receiving appropriate treatment. They will continue to monitor his progress and well-being to ensure the best possible care and support. The family is grateful for all the well-wishes and prayers."

In 2023, Jackson stepped down as head of Rainbow/PUSH, the iconic civil rights organization he founded.

Jackson created the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in 1996 as a merger of Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition, two nonprofit organizations he founded in 1971 and 1984, respectively.

Operation PUSH grew out of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Operation Breadbasket, a coalition of Black ministers and businessmen founded by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1962. King appointed Jackson to serve as Operation Breadbasket's first director in Chicago.

Jackson created Operation PUSH in 1971 in an effort to improve the economic and political lives of Black Americans.

Jackson went on to found the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, after his first run for president. The group was formed to seek equal rights for all Americans, and to demand social programs, voting rights, and affirmative action for minorities left out by "Reaganomics," according to the Rainbow/PUSH website.

The two nonprofits merged in 1996 with Jackson at the helm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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