Rev. Jesse Jackson, a stalwart figure in the civil rights movement, has been discharged from a Chicago hospital following a 12-day stay. The 84-year-old activist received treatment for a rare brain disorder, as confirmed by his family.
Jackson’s son, Yusef Jackson, who serves as the family spokesperson, announced that his father left Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition. The Baptist minister, known widely for his social activism and past bid for the U.S. presidency, had been hospitalized to monitor his condition. He is battling progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative disease that impairs balance, movement, and eye motion. Initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, Jackson’s condition was redefined as PSP in April 2025. Unfortunately, PSP remains incurable.
In a public statement via the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the progressive organization Jackson founded in Chicago, Yusef Jackson expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and prayers from friends and supporters during his father’s hospital stay. He remarked, “Our family would like to thank the countless friends and supporters who have reached out, visited, and prayed for our father.”
He further acknowledged the exceptional care provided by the staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, stating, “We bear witness to the fact that prayer works and would also like to thank the professional, caring, and amazing medical and security staff at the hospital. We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time.”
Jackson’s enduring presence in the fight for civil rights remains influential, and the well-wishes for his recovery underscore the impact of his lifelong dedication to social justice. His recent appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 2024 serves as a testament to his ongoing commitment to advocacy and reform.
“We bear witness to the fact that prayer works and would also like to thank the professional, caring, and amazing medical and security staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” he added. “We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time.”
Jackson announced his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017.
“After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father,” he said at the time. “Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it.”
Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson attend Day One of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 19, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
The longtime political activist, who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has faced several health challenges in recent years, including gallbladder surgery and hospitalization due to COVID-19.
In 2021, he was hospitalized in Washington, D.C., after falling and hitting his head while helping Howard University students protesting campus living conditions.
Jackson became a key lieutenant to King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s. He was involved in the Selma to Montgomery marches, three protest marches held in 1965 in Alabama to advocate for voting rights for African Americans.
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. delivers a speech during a presidential campaign stop with Rep. Maxine Waters and supporters at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel, June 6, 1984. (Bob Riha Jr./Getty)
After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most prominent heirs to King’s legacy of activism. Jackson is considered one of the most prominent civil rights leaders, ministers and political figures in modern American history. Jackson twice ran for president as a Democrat, in 1984 and 1988.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition was formed by the elder Jackson in 1996 by merging two groups he had founded: Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition.
