Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized Wednesday in Chicago.

According to CNN, the 84-year-old is “under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).”

“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade,” the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement, according to the outlet.

“He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease however, last April, his PSP condition was confirmed. The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” the organization continued.

CNN has more:

PSP is “a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements,” according to the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

ADVERTISEMENT

The disease typically begins in a person’s 60s and has some symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, it adds. Most people with PSP develop severe disability within three to five years.

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

In 1971, he founded Operation PUSH as a way to improve Black communities’ economic conditions across the US.

Jesse Jackson Jr. said on Thursday that his father’s condition had improved since his hospitalization, ABC7 Chicago noted.

“On behalf of the Jackson family, we can not extend enough of our gratitude for those of you who have expressed your thoughts and prayer over the last 24 hours,” Jackson Jr. said, according to the outlet.

“Dad has lived a number of years past the life expectancy of associated with this particular disease and has put up and continues to put up a valiant struggle against this particular form of unique Parkinson’s, for which there is no cure,” he added.

ABC7 Chicago shared:

The 84-year-old gained national attention in the 1960s as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s protégé.

Jackson spent more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice. He ran for U.S. president in 1984 and 1988.

He helped to found the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization dedicated to social justice. He spent nearly three decades leading Rainbow PUSH before stepping down in 2023.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dr. Jori Fleisher, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center, said PSP is also known as “Parkinson’s plus,” or an atypical Parkinson’s condition.

“People have this unusual tendency in PSP to fall backwards,” Dr. Fleisher explained. “It’s almost like they are just standing still and they are kind of pushed backwards.”

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.