Days after being rushed to the hospital with what was described as an emergency neurological condition, reports have surfaced that longtime civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson is now fighting for his life.
According to a CNN report, Jackson, 84, is now receiving life support treatment over blood pressure issues.
Jackson was hospitalized last week over a neurological condition called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).
Another report by CBS News stated that Jackson has been on medication to manage his blood pressure for several days, though his medical team has been attempting to get him off it.
In recent days, the civil rights leader has had flashes of awareness, but his overall health has steadily declined, according to the CBS News report.
However, Jackson’s family quickly refuted the reports that he was on some form of life support in an emailed statement to Newsweek.
“Contrary to specific reports, he is not on life support,” the statement sent out by Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC), which Jackson founded.
Multiple news outlets had reported that family and friends were traveling to be with Jackson as he received life support at a hospital in Chicago, but was quickly dismissed by Jackson’s family yesterday.
“Reverend Jackson is in stable condition and is breathing without the assistance of machines,” the family said in RPC’s statement.
“He remains under the care of physicians as he manages progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a neurological disorder with which he was diagnosed in April.”
Jackson’s son Yusef said in the statement that his father is continuing to be active despite the health diagnosis.
“In fact, today he called for 2,000 churches to prepare 2,000 baskets of food to prevent malnutrition during the holiday season,” said Yusef.
PSP is a rare neurological disorder caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain that affects body movements, walking, balance, and eye movements, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The hospitalization marks the latest in a series of health scares for Jackson. In early 2021, Jackson underwent gallbladder surgery. Later that year, he was treated for COVID-19, which included time at a physical rehabilitation facility. He was hospitalized again in November 2021 after a fall that caused a serious head injury.
Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s under Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He worked alongside King until the civil rights leader’s 1968 assassination leapfrogged Jackson to the spotlight. In 1971, Jackson broke with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to form Operation PUSH, originally named People United to Save Humanity. He founded the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, and the two organizations merged in 1996 to become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson ran for president twice in the 1980s, but didn’t get far in the Democratic Party primaries.
Jackson stepped down from heading the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023 after more than 50 years.
Two of Jackson’s children have served in Congress. His son Jonathan Jackson was elected to Illinois’ 1st congressional district in 2022. Jesse Jackson Jr. represented Illinois’ 2nd district for 17 years until resigning during a federal investigation involving misuse of campaign funds.
Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife pleaded guilty to stealing $750,000 in campaign cash to support a lavish lifestyle and served prison terms. Jesse Jackson Jr. recently announced he is running again for Congress.