Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson hospitalised in Chicago

The 84-year-old Jackson, a protégé of Rev Martin Luther King Jr., is under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative condition, which he has been managing for a decade, the Rainbow PUSH coalition said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

“The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” the group said.Jackson later launched the National Rainbow Coalition, in 1984, with the goal of obtaining equal rights for all Americans, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Some 12 years later, the two organizations merged to form Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The organization’s origins stemmed from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket, founded by King.

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

He unsuccessfully ran for President in 1984 and 1988.

Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s and has spent more than six decades advocating for racial equality, economic justice and voter rights.