Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Civil Rights activist recognized as a leader on the Left, was hospitalized this week with a neurodegenerative condition.
Jackson, 84, was admitted to a local hospital, where he is under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition he has faced for over a decade, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition announced Wednesday evening.
Jackson founded the left-wing social justice coalition in 1971. He stepped down as the Chicago civil rights organization’s leader in 2023.
The activist’s PSP condition was confirmed in April, after he was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
PSP is a rare neurological disorder that resembles Parkinson’s but often has more accelerated symptoms and a severe prognosis.
Symptoms of the rare brain disease include trouble balancing, inability to aim the eyes, slurred speech, trouble walking, and difficulty swallowing.
Jackson’s voice has remained a force in politics in recent years, and he attended the Democratic National Convention last year to support then-Vice President Kamala Harris in her race for the presidency.
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Reflecting on the moment, the aging Jackson later said he viewed it as a “fulfillment” of the civil rights group he founded decades ago.
“I saw the fulfillment of the Rainbow: Red, Yellow, Black, and White,” he told the Washington Informer.
