The family of Chicago icon and global civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson will hold press conference Wednesday morning to share reflections and remarks on Jackson’s life and legacy.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
The press conference comes a day after Jackson, 84, died following a long battle with Parkinson’s and rare brain disease Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Public observances and funeral arrangements are expected to be held in Chicago, with more updates to be announced by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The press conference is expected to begin at at 9 a.m. Wednesday. NBC Chicago will provide a special report ahead of the update, which will stream live in the player above once it begins.
Eulogies and emotional messages are continuing to pour in for Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades.
NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern explores Rev. Jesse Jackson’s tremendous impact on the Democratic party and how candidates are nominated.
“I knew him well, long before becoming President,” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’ He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people! … Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him.”
Former President Barack Obama also put out a statement, saying in part Jackson “helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history.”
“Reverend Jackson also created opportunities for generations of African Americans and inspired countless more, including us” the statement continued. “Michelle got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager. And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office in the land.”
In an emotional interview with NBC Chicago, hours after he got the phone call about his father, Rep. Jonathan Jackson said “he’s my hero.”
“Some people know him as a civil rights leader,” Jackson said, choking up. “You never know how big a tree is until it lies down,” he said. Jonathan added that believed his father’s last message would be “keep hope alive.”
More on Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy can be found here.
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