Rev. Jesse Jackson is in hospital, not on life support according to family

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is not on life support, despite multiple reports over the weekend.

His family said in a statement to USA Today that he is in stable condition after being hospitalized on November 12 under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy.

Jackson’s family denied rumors the civil rights leader was on life support and confirmed he is breathing on his own without machine assistance at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

His son, Yusef Jackson, said his father is still active, telling the outlet, "In fact, today he called for 2,000 churches to prepare 2,000 baskets of food to prevent malnutrition during the holiday season.”

In 2017, Jackson announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years earlier but was later confirmed to be progressive supranuclear palsy last April, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said.

Like Parkinson’s progressive supranuclear palsy is a neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking, balance, and eye movements.

Jackson was a prominent civil rights leader in the 1960s and a former protégé of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He is also the founder of the civil rights organizations Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, which eventually merged into one, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

In 1984 and 1988, Jackson made unsuccessful bids for the Democratic nomination for president.

Jackson’s health has been declining since his 2017 announcement that he had Parkinson’s. He underwent abdominal surgery in February 2021 and was hospitalized that same year in August after testing positive for COVID-19. In November, he was also treated after he fell and hit his head, according to Reuters.

He stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023.