Abuja – Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson remains hospitalized after receiving care to stabilize his blood pressure, according to sources close to the family who spoke on Sunday. In a statement released late Sunday afternoon, the family said he is breathing on his own without the assistance of machines and is not on life support. A separate source added that earlier he had been receiving medication to raise his blood pressure, which is considered a form of life support. The family noted that in the last 24 hours his condition has improved and he has been able to maintain a stable blood pressure without medication.
The 84‑year‑old Jackson, a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has been under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said on Wednesday evening. PSP is described as a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking, balance and eye movements, typically beginning in a person’s 60s and often leading to severe disability within three to five years. Jackson has been managing the neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade, having originally been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before PSP was confirmed in April.
Family sources said Jackson experienced a significant drop in blood pressure Saturday night, but a medical team responded immediately. Despite treatment, he has shown brief but meaningful signs of responsiveness. His son Yusef said in the Sunday statement, “In fact, today he called for 2,000 churches to prepare 2,000 baskets of food to prevent malnutrition during the holiday season.” His other son, Jesse Jackson Jr., noted on Thursday during his weekday radio show that there had been “significant improvement” in his father’s condition under medical care.
Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a close aide to King. After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America. In 1971 he founded Operation PUSH to improve economic conditions in Black communities across the United States. He later launched the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984, aiming for equal rights for all Americans, and the two organizations merged in 1996 to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The family has not released further details about his condition, but they expressed gratitude for the medical care he is receiving. “Keep hope alive,” a phrase often associated with Jackson, continues to resonate as he recovers. The civil rights icon remains under close observation as his condition continues to evolve.
