The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is in stable condition despite remaining hospitalized, his family said in a statement on Nov. 16.
Jackson, 84, was admitted to a hospital on Nov. 12 under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, his civil rights organization, said in a statement.
In the Nov. 16 statement, Jackson’s family dispelled reports that the civil rights leader is on life support and confirmed that he is breathing without the assistance of machines at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
“In fact, today he called for 2,000 churches to prepare 2,000 baskets of food to prevent malnutrition during the holiday season,” said his son, Yusef Jackson.
Jackson, an ordained Baptist minister, was a prominent voice in the 1960s civil rights movement and former protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He had two unsuccessful bids for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988, and formed the civil rights organizations Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, which later merged.
Rev. Jesse Jackson hospitalized. What is progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP?
In 2017, Jackson announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years earlier. But his diagnosis was confirmed to be progressive supranuclear palsy last April, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said.
Progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, is a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
While different from Parkinson’s disease, some of their symptoms are similar. PSP typically begins later than when Parkinson’s disease symptoms develop.
PSP usually worsens rapidly and can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, choking or head injuries from falls, according to NINDS.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s health
In a 2017 letter initially announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Jackson acknowledged that the disease also afflicted his father.
“Now in the latter years of my life, at 76 years old, I find it increasingly difficult to perform routine tasks, and getting around is more of a challenge,” Jackson said at the time. “For a while, I resisted interrupting my work to visit a doctor. But as my daily physical struggles intensified I could no longer ignore the symptoms, so I acquiesced.”
Rev. Jesse Jackson is interviewed in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
Jackson was hospitalized in February 2021 for abdominal surgery and again in August 2021 after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. In November 2021, he also underwent treatment after falling and hitting his head at Howard University, Reuters reported.
He stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen and Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY; Aamer Madhani
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rev. Jesse Jackson is not on life support, family says
