JUST IN: Civil Rights Icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized in Chicago

Reverend Jesse Jackson, one of the most enduring figures of the American civil rights movement and protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has been hospitalized in Chicago, his organization confirmed Wednesday.

The 84-year-old is “under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP),” the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement on the organization’s website.

Jackson was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before doctors confirmed last year that he had PSP, a rare brain disorder that affects movement, balance, and cognition.

A towering figure in American political life, Jackson gained national prominence in the 1960s when he left the Chicago Theological Seminary to join King in the struggle for racial equality. He went on to found several influential advocacy groups, including People United to Serve Humanity in 1971 and the Rainbow Coalition in 1984, which later merged into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Jackson stepped down as its president in 2023, closing a six-decade career that saw him run twice for the Democratic presidential nomination and register millions of new voters.

Jackson’s organization appealed

to supporters for prayers: “He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. The family appreciates all prayers at this time.”