Rev. Jesse Jackson is back home after several days of treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, his son confirmed on Tuesday. Yusef Jackson said his father, now 84, was discharged on Monday.
Jackson’s health challenges trace back more than a decade. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, he was later found to be living with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative illness identified last April that closely resembles Parkinson’s and requires constant attention. According to his family, he now relies on a wheelchair, struggles to keep his eyes open and can no longer speak.
In his statement, Yusef Jackson offered gratitude to all who supported the family throughout the hospital stay. He thanked “the countless friends and supporters who have reached out, visited and prayed for our father,” and also acknowledged the hospital’s medical and security staff. “We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time,” he said.
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Jackson, once a close apprentice of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and later a two-time contender for the presidency, was hospitalized on November 14. His stay drew visits from several prominent figures, among them former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton and television personality Judge Greg Mathis.
Despite announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, Jackson remained active in public life. He took part in major political events, including the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and continued making appearances even after stepping down from leadership of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in 2023. The organization, which he founded in 1971 as Operation PUSH, still saw him in the office regularly until only recently.
His day-to-day care is now managed by family members, including his sons, Illinois U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman currently pursuing another term in office.
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