The Rainbow PUSH Coalition announced that civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized on Wednesday over a rare brain disorder that he had been diagnosed with.
Per ABC7 Chicago, sources informed them that the 84-year-old was receiving treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In a statement, Rainbow PUSH said that Jackson is “under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative disorder he has managed for more than a decade.”
Jackson’s PSP diagnosis came after he was previously diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Per Mayo Clinic, PSP is a “rare brain disease that affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing.”
“The disease results from the damage of cells in areas of the brain that control body movement, coordination, thinking and other important functions. Progressive supranuclear palsy also is called Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome,” the clinic adds.
“Progressive supranuclear palsy worsens over time and can lead to dangerous complications, such as pneumonia and trouble swallowing. There’s no cure for progressive supranuclear palsy, so treatment focuses on managing the symptoms.”
The clinic also states that the cause of PSP is unknown. “Its symptoms result from the damage of cells in areas of the brain, especially areas that help you control body movements and thinking.”
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In 1971, civil rights leader Jackson formed the organization Operation PUSH to advocate for civil rights. The organization became Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 1996 following the emergence of the Rainbow Coalition out of his 1984 presidential campaign.
Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson eventually became an ordained Baptist minister. He started activism decades ago when he was a college freshman at North Carolina A&T and would go on to become a protege of Martin Luther King Jr. He was one of the “Greenville Eight,” a group of Black students that protested at the whites-only public library in his hometown.
Since then, he has remained active in the civil rights movement, culminating in the formation of PUSH in 1971, running for president twice, and successfully negotiating the release of U.S. citizens held hostage abroad multiple times.
Before Rainbow PUSH, he led the Chicago branch of Operation Breadbasket, the economic development arm of King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. After splitting from Operation Breadbasket in 1972, Jackson founded Operation PUSH, which later merged with the Rainbow Coalition. The aim of the coalition to this day is to agitate for a greater share of political and economic power for African Americans and the poor, according to the Chicago Suntimes.
Aside from running for president, he also successfully got elected as one of the District of Columbia’s “shadow senators,” when he moved to Washington as part of his drive for voting rights and statehood.
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