chicago — cross country Memorial services Events celebrating the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. are scheduled to begin Thursday in Chicago, the city the late civil rights leader called his home.
Stepdaughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Two-time presidential candidate He will rest for two days at the Rainbow PUSH Alliance headquarters before events in Washington, D.C. and South CarolinaWhere he was born.
“The outpouring of love and support we have received from around the world has been abundant and profound,” Jackson family members said in a recent statement.
Jackson He died last week At the age of 84 after fighting A A rare neurological disorder Which affected his movement and ability to speak in his later years.
The memories are already flowing from all over the world, Many US states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, fly their flags at half-mast in his honor.
But perhaps nowhere was his death felt so keenly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including his congressman son.
Bouquets of flowers have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s south side for days. Public schools offered their condolences, and city trains used digital screens to display a picture of Jackson and his famous slogan, “I’m Somebody!”.
Its causesIn the United States and abroad, their numbers were countless: advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education, and health care. He has scored diplomatic victories with world leaders and, through the Rainbow PUSH coalition, taken cries for black pride and self-determination to corporate boardrooms and pressured CEOs to make America a more open and equitable society.
“We honor him and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and devoted shepherd to his family and community here in Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
Jackson next week Honor is located in South CarolinaFollowed by public services. According to the Rainbow PUSH agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to make remarks, but the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation has not yet been confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and activism in South Carolina.
Details of the services in Washington have not yet been announced. However, he will not lie in his honor in the rotunda of the United States Capitol after a The request for remembrance was rejected By the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The two-week event will conclude next week with a large Celebration of Life Gathering at a Chicago megachurch and, finally, homecoming services at the Rainbow PUSH Alliance headquarters.
Family members said services will be open to everyone.
“His life is broad enough to cover the full range of what it means to be an American,” said his eldest son, Jesse Jackson JrHe told reporters recently. “We’re just asking people to come forward and be respectful in the context of the extraordinary life he lived.”