Thursday marked a significant milestone as the Rainbow PUSH Coalition hosted its 40th Annual Thanksgiving Program, an event dedicated to providing meals to hundreds of families in need.
This year’s program occurred amid a wave of prayers and well-wishes for Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was recently released from a Chicago hospital after a nearly two-week stay.
The 84-year-old civil rights leader was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Monday, with his family reporting that he is in stable condition.
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On Thursday, ABC7 learned that Rev. Jackson is still in the recovery process. However, his family conveyed that his primary directive was not to dwell on his health but to continue focusing on his mission of helping others.
“I know, he’s probably somewhere, writing a book or something or a journal in his mind,” remarked Shelia Thomas, one of the attendees at the Thanksgiving dinner.
As it turns out, Thomas’s guess might not be far from the truth.
“When he woke up, he said, ‘Hey, I want to make sure that we’re focusing not on my health, but on my work,’” Rev. Jackson’s son Yusef Jackson, CEO of Rainbow PUSH, said.
Even as the 84-year-old is treated for a rare neurological disorder, the Jackson family says the civil rights icon hasn’t lost his spirit of giving.
“He’s asked us to put together a program to feed 2,000 churches, and they would develop 2,000 baskets of food,” Yusef Jackson said.
Yusef says his father has already given instruction to end malnutrition in Chicago and nationwide. It comes as they host the 40th annual Rainbow PUSH Coalition Thanksgiving Program in Hyde Park, feeding close to 200 people.
“We urge everyone to follow the mandate that Reverend Jackson who followed the mandate that Jesus gave us, clothe the naked, give sight to the blind, visit those who are in prison,” said Rev. Janette Wilson, National Executive Director of Push for Excellence, Inc. “That’s what we’re going to be doing throughout this holiday season.”
The focus is to carry on, especially in a season where so many families are in need.
“Just hold on,” Rev. Wilson said. Help is on the way. Keep hope alive.”
The Jackson family says they have been asked by Rev. Jackson to develop a program to feed 4 million people between December and January.
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, his family says. In April, the diagnosis changed to progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological disorder.
Jackson gained national attention in the 1960s as Martin Luther King Jr.’s protégé. Jackson spent more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice. He ran for U.S. president in 1984 and 1988.
He helped to found the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization dedicated to social justice. He spent nearly three decades leading Rainbow PUSH before stepping down in 2023.
What is PSP?
Dr. Jori Fleisher, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center, said PSP is also known as “Parkinson’s plus,” or an atypical Parkinson’s condition.
“People have this unusual tendency in PSP to fall backwards,” Dr. Fleisher said. “It’s almost like they are just standing still and they are kind of pushed backwards.”
Dr. Behzad Elahi is a neurologist at UChicago Medicine. He is not working on Rev. Jackson’s case, but described the disease as part of the same family as Parkinson’s, but is more rare and more advanced, and it affects chewing, swallowing and balance. It is a disease where those closest to the patient must keep close watch.
“Less than 10% of those with Parkinsonism with or Parkinson disease will be diagnosed with PSP,” Dr. Elahi said. “The family is everything. Currently, we don’t have a cure for the disease. We have some medication that can help with some symptoms, but we currently don’t have any cure.”
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare brain disease that affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
PSP is also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome.
The cause of PSP isn’t known, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms come from the damage of brain cells.
The only proven risk factor for progressive supranuclear palsy is age, according to the Mayo Clinic.
